


The Prince and the Wanderer

by SillyFanboy



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark with Happy Moments, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, F/M, Female Kana - Freeform, Female Summoner | Eclat | Kiran, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, Light Angst, Male Morgan - Freeform, Medium Burn, Named Secondary Characters, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Sexual Tension, Tension, faster than a slowburn but certainly not a fastburn, kiran is an archer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2019-07-23 23:04:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 76,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16168628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SillyFanboy/pseuds/SillyFanboy
Summary: Kiran is brought to the world of Zenith. By who? How? She has no clue.She just knows she woke up in a snowy place with two kids nearby, and now has to fend for the three of them.Takes place during Múspell's invasion of Nifl.(Rating has gone from T to M due to swearing and future violent scenes.)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya!  
> This is basically a narration of what happened to Nifl as Múspell invaded, but from the eyes of an outsider.  
> Hope you like it!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran wakes up in a place she doesn't recognize.

Bullseye.

Kiran placed another arrow on her bow, pulled the string back, and aimed.  
She let herself feel the strong tension in her fingers before setting the arrow free.

Missed the bullseye by two inches.

 

—Kiran, we’re heading back now! — _her friends called from behind._

—Coming!

 

Arrows stashed away with the rest of the equipment in the storage cabin, Kiran held her bow in one hand and her sun-powered flashlight on the other as she trailed along her friends and out of the nearby woods they used for target practicing. They borrowed the arrows and targets from another friend who actually trained his marksmanship for competitions and stuff, though each of them had to bring their own bows.

It had been a nice day.

 

They headed out of the woods and into the street, waving Kiran goodbye as they continued walking, since she would wait there for the bus to arrive. She checked the time on her phone and how much battery life it had left, before returning it to the pouches in her belt along with the flashlight.  
Wouldn’t want to get robbed at that hour of the night.

 

The bus arrived shortly after and she got in, taking a seat next to a sleeping businesswoman. She leaned her bow against her shoulder and took out a small notebook and a pen to doodle something along the way. It would be another half an hour before she arrived to the station nearest to her house, after all.

 

When she woke up, she was not in her bedroom. Not even in the bus, to begin with.  
Also probably not in the city at all.

 

Her eyes opened groggily to pure white. She was laying down somewhere, still feeling all her clothes from the day on, and her fingertips were touching her bow and notebook.

What?

 

Confused, she tried to remember exactly what in the hell had happened as she sat up in what she now realized was snow.  
Her pen and notebook were scattered to her side, so she returned them to her pouch.

 

Right, what had happened? She remembered sitting down in the bus and deciding to doodle something.  
Deciding? She never got to do it. She never got to do it, because…

 

She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to remember.

 

The bus made a routine stop and a couple got down, five men getting in.  
Oh.   
The bus got mugged.

 

Her hand reached for her chest, hovering ghostly over her long sleeved black shirt.  
She got shot. Only once, to the right of her chest, but she remembered the sensation clearly.

So. She’d died? Probably.  
Was that the afterlife? Probably as well. But it could also be that she was in a coma.   
Which sounded more possible.

Though, if she had to be honest, it felt… so real. The strange sensation on the bullet wound that wasn’t there, the cold snow she was sitting in, and the freezing breeze around her.  
Was she really in a coma, or had something even crazier happened?

 

Nevertheless, Kiran picked up her bow and rose to her feet, looking around her. She was in a vast expanse of snow, some mountains not far from her position, and what looked like a forest also not far from there. There were no trails, houses, posts, or roadways visible from where she was, but if there were it was probable the snow had covered whatever road laid below.  
Meaning that was an area not frequented by cars.

 

Hanging the bow by her shoulder, she dusted off some snow from her black leggings and shorts, making sure none had gotten into her boots. As she arranged her scarf, she retrieved her phone from the pouch and checked the hour.  
It still marked eight in the night.

 

Confused, she unlocked it and verified that yes, she had no signal. Bummer, but there was at least a good deal of battery remaining so it could very well last until she found civilization if she took care of it.

Returning it to the pouch, she turned on her heels to decide in which direction to head, when behind her she saw two other collapsed figures.

 

Surprised and rather worried, she made her way over to them only to find out they were two children laying face down on the snow.  
What in the actual hell were two kids doing there? She didn’t recognize either, they hadn’t been in the bus with her or else she would remember… such clothes. One of them had short dark brown hair and was covered by a dark purple-ish robe with golden accents on the ends, and the other had brown hair on a messy bun, a blue scarf… thing over their neck and weird gray with black clothes. Were they siblings?   
Scattered next to them on the snow were a red book with a hard cover and a precious light blue diamond looking stone.

 

Kiran stared at them for a moment.  
She had to get them to safety. If she left them there, they’d certainly freeze to death. Not to mention one of them was barefoot.   
Unlike herself, who, for all intents and purposes, was probably already dead.

 

Somehow, she managed to carry both kids. One turned out to be a girl not past six years, and the other was a boy who couldn’t be older than eight. And they didn’t look like siblings at all. The girl had elven-like pointy ears while the boy did not, aside from the obvious lack of resemblance.

Kiran hoisted up one kid in each arm, her bow hanging from the shoulder to the side where the girl was at (the lightest of the two) and the stone and book accommodated between her and the girl as well.

 

Problem number one: Kiran had _no idea_ where to go.

 

Guessing it was better to seek refuge from the cold and, if it came to that, somewhere to spend the night at; she headed for the forest.

 

To be honest, she wasn’t really surprised when night came around and they were still wandering around the woods.  
Kiran was lost.

 

It didn’t matter to her, since she was probably dead, but the kids were alive. Where were their parents? Why were they out there in the middle of the snow with her?

 

She reached a pine tree whose leaves started from half a meter above the ground, and decided that was a good enough refuge for the night, considering there was nothing else around. Using some fallen branches full of leaves, she made a small hut beneath the pine tree and carefully laid the kids inside.

She checked in their clothes for any IDs, pockets or any information about who they were, where did they come from and who were their parents.  
However, she found nothing.

 

And now that she was taking a better look at them, why, exactly, were they dressed like that? The girl had some sort of armor set on her torso, and the boy had leather armor on his stomach held up by two belts.  
Everything was very… old-fashioned, medieval almost.

 

She placed the stone and the book between them and sat just outside of the hut. Someone had to stay on guard during the night, and she probably didn’t need to sleep anyway.  
But it was rather cold.

 

Kiran gathered some sticks and dried leaves, set them on the ground, and produced her flashlight and magnifying lense from her pouch. The magnifying lense she had bought in a convention for three reasons: one, it was based off of the one Sherlock Holmes used in the BBC show, two, it was practical, and three, seeing as she frequented the woods for target practice it was nice to be able to look closely to the details of flowers, fungi and whatnot.

After some long minutes of waiting, she managed to get a small fire going.

 

Relieved and a bit proud of herself, she smiled softly and returned her stuff to the pouch.   
She sat in front of the fire for a good while, warming her cold hands and feet, and enjoying the peaceful night interrupted only by the crickets and rustling of the leaves caused by some birds.   
If that was the afterlife, she could get used to it.

 

At some point, she decided to take out her phone. If only to take some pictures of the place, since it was quite pretty.  
She was shocked to discover it had the same amount of battery.

 

Was it frozen? No, the hour had transcurred like normal, and she could access all the apps-  
Wait.   
What?

 

She could access all the apps. All of them.  
Even the ones that needed internet.

 

But _how?!_ She had no wi-fi, let alone signal! How was it that she could access Tumblr and Youtube like normal?   
Or… not?   
It wasn’t letting her like anything. She couldn’t post. She couldn't reblog or share.   
What…?

 

The soft rustling of grass caught her attention, followed by a soft groan of someone waking up.  
The kids!

 

Kiran returned her phone to the pouch, setting her bow to the side (careful not to put it too close to the fire, since it was wooden, after all), and crawled over to the small hut.  
The girl was shuffling in her position, propping herself up with one elbow and rubbing her eyes with the free hand, sleepy.

 

—What…? — _she muttered, confused. Her voice was sweet, clearly not older than six._

—Ah, you’re awake? — _Kiran put on her kindest tone, sitting cross-legged by the entrance_.— How are you feeling?

—I’m… fine, thank you… — _the little girl sat up, imitating Kiran’s position._ — Where are mommy and daddy? Who are you?

—My name is Kiran. — _she smiled warmly, trying her best not to seem dangerous or suspicious at all_.— I don’t know where your parents are, I found you in the snow.

 

The girl put on a confused expression.

 

—Tell me, what’s your name? — _Kiran asked._

—I’m Kana. — _the girl answered, still confused_.— Where are we?

—I don’t know either. — _the older one sighed, looking out at the small campfire_.— I woke up in the snow, I have no idea how I got there. — _she returned her gaze to the girl, realizing her eyes were a beautiful gray._ — Do you know how you ended up in the snow?

—No…? — _Kana made a pondering face._ — I was playing catch with mommy and daddy, and then… then there was a huge light! — _she whisper-exclaimed, motioning wide with her arms._ — I don’t know what happened next.

—Hmm… — _Kiran audibly hummed so the girl would know she was thinking about it_.— That’s strange.

—I know, right?!

—What’s the name of your parents? — _she asked. Kana was probably a six year old, seven tops. She should have memory-permanence by now, so maybe she could get some clues as to where to take her?_ — And where do you live? So I know where to take you.

—My mommy’s name is Mozu, and my daddy’s name is Corrin. — _Kana smiled_.— We live in the capital of Hoshido.

—Hoshido...? — _Kiran repeated, confused. That sounded Japanese, but Kana didn’t look Asian. Well, Corrin didn’t sound Asian either, so maybe she inherited her father’s features. Yet… Hoshido? There wasn’t a country with that name._ — I’ve never been there. — _she played along nonetheless._ — Is it snowy like this? Do you think we’re somewhere in Hoshido?

—It snows sometimes, but not now. — _Kana shook her head no_.— It’s spring. It shouldn’t snow.

 

Kiran nodded with another hum. Then they were not in… wherever Hoshido was. That place looked as if it had been snowing nonstop for the last days, and the flora seemed that of a cold region.

Kana began patting her clothes, suddenly looking for something.

 

—Oh no…

—What is it?

—It’s my dragonstone… — _Kana was visibly sad._ — No way… and daddy said I shouldn’t lose it…

—Dragon-? — _Kiran stopped herself from asking_.— Is it that one? — _instead, she pointed to the precious stone on top of the book behind her._

 

Kana turned, gasped, and fetched it quickly, holding it close, apparently only then noticing the other kid.

 

—Who is this?

—I… don’t know. — _Kiran chuckled softly. So they weren’t siblings, after all._ — He was laying not far from you in the snow. Do you not recognize him?

 

The little girl leaned closer to his face, scrutinizing him, with _no_ sense of personal space.

 

—No. I don’t know him. — _she said after a minute, sitting back to the side._

 

Kiran sighed.

 

—Well, go to sleep. — _she smiled kindly at Kana._ — Tomorrow we will try to get you to mommy and daddy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will update sporadically, since my main fic is still Worlds.  
> Still, I hope you enjoy this!


	2. The Village

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran and the kids arrive at a village.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was mentioned last chapter, but this Kana is the daughter of Mozu, mainly bc I find the ship adorable and that gives her a more normal haircolor.  
> This Morgan, meanwhile, is the son of Lon'qu bc, again, same reasons for Kana's parents.

Kana was fast asleep, which was good to know in case it took them longer than the next day to find a town or city to ask for her parents. Kiran stayed in front of the campfire, sometimes standing up to get more sticks. Two more hours went by, and a small clearing in the clouds allowed her to see the stars above.

She didn't find even the most common of constellations. No South Cross, no North Star, nothing.

Which was slightly concerning, to say the least.

 

Starting to get bored, she walked around the vicinity in search of more sticks for the fireplace, when she found a very strong one, of the type children would play swords with.

A thought came to her in the second her stomach growled quietly for food, a patient reminder she hadn't eaten dinner.  
What if they couldn't find a town? She probably didn't need to eat, but the kids would surely starve.

 

Kiran returned to her spot by the campfire with a bunch of sticks, branches and logs. She took out her father's Swiss Army knife from her pouch and started carving an arrow out of a strong branch.

She didn't have anything to use for arrowhead, but she was confident in her marksmanship to be able to hunt something with a simple pointy stick.

 

An entire hour after that, and Kiran having made almost three arrows, there was shuffling inside the hut. Not sleepy shuffling, the kind you make when you move in your sleep, but a strong one.  
Maybe the other kid had woken up?

 

She set everything on her made-up workstation and crawled over to the entrance.  
The other kid was sitting up.

 

—Ugh, what…?

—Glad you’re up. — _Kiran used her kindest tone again_.— How are you feeling?

—I’m fine, thank you. — _the boy looked around him, noting Kana to his side and fetching the book to examine it, before holding it closer. He looked at Kiran with dark purple-ish eyes._ — Uh… Who are you, miss?

—My name's Kiran. — _she smiled warmly._ — And you are…?

—Morgan. — _the boy smiled too, a very kind smile._ — Where are we?

—I… don't know. — _Kiran sighed._ — I woke up in the snow, and you two were close by, so…

—Huh, that's strange. — _Morgan pondered_.— I was reading at the library of the castle, how'd I end up in the snow…?

 

Kiran shut up for a second.  
Library of the castle…?

 

—Wait, mother mentioned something like this happening to her… — _the boy continued pondering_.— Ah, no, but I remember everything. Then why are we…? Maybe that huge light… — _he trailed off, returning his gaze to her._ — Miss Kiran-

—Just Kiran.

—Kiran, you mentioned snow, didn’t you? Maybe we’re in Regna Ferox, it snows there almost all year-round. — _Morgan pointed out._

—I… wouldn’t know, I’ve never been there… — _Kiran chuckled, rather nervous. What the heck was Regna Ferox? She made a mental note of it being a cold place and played along_.— By the way, where are you from?

—I’m from Ylisse. — _Morgan smiled_.— If we’re in Regna Ferox, we’re not far from the halidom.

—Ylisse… — _she repeated, utterly confused. The halidom? Ylisse was a halidom? What was this kid talking about? What was Ylisse to begin with?_ — Never been there either.

—It’s very pretty. — _he grinned._

—Is Hoshido far from Ylisse? — _Kiran asked, not really sure what she was saying anymore._

—Hoshido? — _Morgan repeated, suddenly confused_.— I’ve never heard of that place! It must be very far.

—This girl is from there. — _she looked at Kana, still sleeping, and Morgan made a noise of comprehension_.— I’m from the States, but I’m not sure how to get here either, since I have no idea where we are…

—From the States? — _Morgan repeated again._

—The United States.

—I’ve never heard of that place either! — _he seemed amazed._ — Wow, you two are from very far away! What’s the name of your continent?

—America…?

—America… I didn’t know there was a continent with that name. Oh, I’m so telling mother when I get back! — _Morgan rambled on, excited._

 

Kiran, meanwhile, was silent.

Right, so she didn’t really expect everyone in the world to know every single other country, but… objectively speaking, if you were to know one that wasn’t yours or near yours, you’d probably know of the USA. Or at the _very least_ of the continent of America. She understood Morgan was like, what, a ten year old tops? But ten year olds had to know the continents, if not the (for better or worse) most influential countries in the world.

So why didn’t he? It wasn’t that he was ignorant, he seemed very knowledgeable, considering he knew two other… places. Yet, why didn’t he know where had Kana appeared from?

What exactly was going on?

 

Well, if that was indeed somewhere she’d arrived after dying, then high chance it wasn’t even her world.  
Then, what now? Where would they go? How was she supposed to get those two kids to their parents?

 

—Go to sleep for now, Morgan. — _Kiran spoke again, kind of interrupting his rambling. Not that he seemed to mind, considering he looked up at her with a smile to pay attention_.— I’ll stay up for lookout, tomorrow we’ll explore the area and see if we can get you back to Ylisse and Kana back to Hoshido.

—Alright!

 

She spent the rest of the night carving out more arrows.

By the time morning came around and the fireplace had extinguished, she had around ten pointy sticks, which was better than nothing. She carefully stashed them in her boots, feeling each step strange, but there was nothing she could do about it.

After checking her phone was indeed somewhat frozen in time (but not really…?), she crawled into the hut to wake up the kids.

 

—No… five more minutes, daddy… — _Kana mumbled turning around. Kiran rolled her eyes and tried with the other._

—Kids, we need to get moving. — _she spoke softly_.— We don’t know where we are, and we need information to get you back to your parents.

 

Morgan woke up with a bedhead and Kana’s bun had disassembled during the night. As the children fixed their clothes groggily, finished waking up for good and exchanged small introductions, Kiran brushed the girl’s locks with her fingers in an attempt to untangle any knots and helped her redo the bun.

 

She hanged her compound bow from her shoulder and faced them both.

 

—We’re going to go search for a town or something where to ask for directions. — _she stated._ — My phone has no signal, so we might need to walk a while before we come across any civilization.

—Your what? — _both kids asked in unison._

—My phone. — _Kiran simply repeated, fetching for her devise in the pouch_.— My smartphone.

 

The children stared at Kiran’s phone as she held it in front of them.

 

—What is that? — _Kana inquired, pointing at it._

—Yes, what does it do? — _Morgan nodded_.— What do you mean by “signal”?

—You… don’t know what a phone is? — _Kiran was surprised, and slightly concerned. That could mean a lot of things_.— A phone. You know, what we use to call people?

—Call people? — _Morgan repeated, confused._

—Oh… uh, I can… communicate with people using this. — _she explained, dumbfounded_.— This sends invisible waves that allow me to reach the phone of whoever I want to speak to.

 

The kids looked at her with awe in their eyes, Morgan more than Kana, since he probably understood better.  
Kiran gulped.

 

—W-Well, regardless, to do that I need to be within range of civilization, which my phone indicates me when we are. — _she continued, nervous._ — It’s telling me we’re too far, meaning there aren’t many cities closeby.

—That’s incredible…! — _Morgan exclaimed._

—So… so that means we have to walk a lot? — _Kana asked._

—Yeah, let’s get going, we’ll find something to eat along the way. — _Kiran smiled softly at her._

 

They began walking through the woods.

 

At the front, however, Kiran was having a small crisis.

It wasn’t that the kids were ignorant, with how society was nowadays there was no way a child Morgan’s age wouldn’t at least know what a phone was. Something else was going on.  
And now that she thought about it, neither of them looked like kids from… well, from where she came from. Actually, they looked straight out of medieval fantasy-

But there was no way, right?

 

At around noon (guessing by the position of the sun, and Kiran adjusted the hour on her phone) they reached a river. The kids immediately went to drink water from it, and Kiran jumped to stop them.

 

—Why? — _they both turned to face her, confused._

—Because it might be contaminated. — _Kiran deadpanned._

—Contami… what? — _Kana sticked her fingers in the crystalline waters nonetheless, playing with the swirls as she looked at Kiran with a puzzled expression._

—You think… you think someone poisoned this?! — _Morgan was shocked_.— But… no! Why would they do that? This river probably brings water to more than one village, they would kill everyone!

—Poison…? — _Kiran had certainly not expected that. She looked at the snowy peaks visible from between the trees and back at the water, which looked crystal clean_.— Let me taste it first, alright?

 

Morgan nodded, serious, and pulled Kana’s hands out of the water. Kiran leaned down and cupped her hands inside the cold waters, bringing some out to take a sip.  
It tasted like glory. Clean, pure water, cold and straight out of a river.

 

—It’s clean, let’s drink. — _she surmised, and Morgan visibly relaxed._

 

Kana almost stuck her entire face in.

 

As they drank peacefully from the river, Kiran was left to ponder over their little exchange. Morgan had deliberately used the word “villages”, not to mention the didn't seem to have any notion of water contamination or pollution.

So had she actually been placed in a medieval setting in her afterlife?  
Well, it didn’t sound terribly bad.

 

They continued onward, walking down the riverstream in hopes it would lead them to a village.

Some two hours later, Kiran halted the marching at the sight of a flock of ducks by the river, probably on a short stop in their migration. She hid with the kids behind a tree and some bushes, pulling out an arrow from her boots and placing it on her bow.

She pulled back the string, aimed, and shot her pointy stick of an arrow.

 

It missed by an inch, the traveling curve of the pointy stick she’d made being slightly different from the arrows she was used to.

The flock went into alert mode and started flying away, but not before Kiran had already loaded another arrow and aimed.

She'd managed to shoot down a decently sized duck.

 

—Yay! — _Kana celebrated_.— That was so good! We have food now!

—I’ll go look for logs to light a fire! — _Morgan announced, happy, walking a bit into the bushes._

—Don’t go too far! — _Kiran warned him._

 

Once they had logs and the duck had been deprived of its feathers (Kiran had no idea how she’d done it, even afterwards), she started reaching for the flashlight and the magnifying lense-

When Morgan held the book open with one hand and with the other shot a fireball at the logs, immediately creating a campfire.  
Kiran almost dropped the duck.

 

—What-

—Wooow! — _Kana exclaimed, unknowingly interrupting Kiran, a bright smile on her face_.— You can use magic! Auntie Camilla can do that too! It’s so cool!

—Right? — _Morgan grinned_.— Mother taught me how to do it. Sir Frederick is always saying I shouldn’t use it for this because it’ll cause a forest fire, but I can control it!

—Yeah, it was… really helpful. — _Kiran attempted to not look shocked_.— Thanks, Morgan.

 

The boy’s grin widened, and they proceeded to roast the duck.

So magic existed. Not only had she been plunged into a medieval setting, it was a fantasy one too.  
Interesting.

 

It was at, according to what she’d told her phone, around five in the evening when they spotted houses in the distance. As they approached with Kana’s excited humming, Kiran realized the houses were rustic, medievally so.  
Yeah, she was in another era entirely. Not to mention she was probably not in her own realm either.

 

They had reached a small village by the river where people seemed to speak their same language, so that was a relief. They asked around if anyone knew how to get to Ylisse or Hoshido, and none of the villagers knew what to answer them. Most looked strangely at the lady and the two kids and told them they didn’t know the places they were talking about.

 

Sitting by the fountain of the main plaza and ignoring the very occasional curious glances of the villagers, Kiran tried to make sense of the situation.

 

Maybe neither Morgan nor Kana were from that realm, too? But if that was the case, did that mean… they had died? How was she going to send them back to their parents if they weren’t even in the same world?

 

—How are we going to go home if nobody gives us directions? — _Kana asked in a half-pout, dangling her feet back and forth._

—They don’t know, Kana. — _Kiran corrected in a soft tone._

—But… what do we do now? — _Morgan had rested his head on his hands, leaning on his knees. His feet didn’t touch the ground either, though they were closer than Kana’s._ — You didn’t even ask about your home, Kiran.

—No… no, because I think I know what’s going on, kind of. — _she sighed._

 

She explained as best as she could, omitting the part about them possibly being dead since… well, to be honest there was magic in that world so everything was probable.  
It hurt her heart to see the expressions on the kids go from neutral to worried to concerned along her explanation.

 

—I want to go home… — _Kana sobbed, tears starting to well on her eyes._

 

Kiran didn’t know what to do for a second, before pulling the little girl into a hug. She turned to look at Morgan, and the boy hesitated. Kiran extended her arm to him, and he gave in, holding his sobs until his face was hidden against Kiran’s clothes and he began crying softly as well.  
She let them cry for some minutes.

 

—I’ll find a way to return you guys home, alright? — _Kiran spoke softly, trying to reassure them._

—P-Promise? — _Kana sniffled, holding out her pinky finger. Kiran felt her heart melt, and locked her own finger with hers._

—Promise.

 

When night fell, they had walked around the village for a while as the kids attempted to cheer up and relax and Kiran checked the prices of things in the few shops there.  
She realized she had no money.

 

They came across an inn and decided to try their luck there. Maybe the owner would let them stay if Kiran helped clean the place, or wash the dishes.  
It was worth a shot.

 

—Welcome. — _a woman in her fifties greeted them, a smile warm and motherly, the bell above the door tingling as it closed behind Kana_.— This is Leila’s Inn, what brings you here?

—Hello. — _Kiran smiled back, walking up to the wooden counter the woman was behind. Kana tiptoed to try and see over it and Morgan’s chin barely reached the surface_.— We’re travellers, and I was wondering if there’s anything… well, we have no money, but-

—You wish to know if you can earn your keep? — _the woman seemed slightly interested._

—Uh… yes. — _Kiran nodded, defeated._

—Well… we do have something big we need help with, but… — _the woman looked to the side, as if doubting it._ — It’s risky. Of course we’d let you stay, we’d even give you a part of the earnings we’ll get out of it, but…

—What is it? — _Kiran pressed._

—It’s a job… — _she trailed off, walking closer to an open door behind the counter_.— Dear! Dear, there’s a traveler here that might be interested in that hunt you have!

 

A few seconds passed before a man walked into the room, more than probably the woman’s husband. He looked tough, and eyed Kiran as if he was judging whether she’d be able to help or not.

 

—Well? — _the woman gave him a pat on the arm._

—Can you use that bow you have, lass? — _the man asked._

—Yeah. Why?

—Right… You see, a noble from the capital came here almost a week ago asking for bear fur. We said we could give it to him if he came back in a week, and he offered us a big sum for the catch. — _the man explained_.— But we'd like one more person. We don’t really need someone to join the fray, we just need someone to go with us and stay on watch for any other dangers. Nobody in the village wants to go, they’re too afraid.

—So, what do you say? — _the woman returned her attention to Kiran_.— If you’re up to it, we’ll of course give you a decent part of the money when the noble comes back tomorrow and retrieves his bear fur. And, obviously, your kids and you can stay the night.

—Oh, they’re not mine. — _Kiran was a bit startled by that, regaining her composure immediately but missing the smirk in the woman’s face at that. She looked at the man._ — I’ll go. — _back to the woman_.— Please take care of these two.

—You’ll go? — _Morgan asked, worried._ — But Kiran, it’s too dangerous!

—Bears are big and strong! — _Kana exclaimed._ — And you’re strong, but you’re not big! The bear will crush you!

—I’ll be fine, don’t worry. — _Kiran kneeled down to their level_.— I’m not going to fight the bear, I’ll just make sure those who do won’t die from it.

—Just… come back in one piece, alright? — _Morgan demanded, concern clear in his voice_.

 

Kiran gave him a warm smile.

 

—Of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funily enough, both Morgan and Kana are royalty. Kana because of Corrin, duh, but in Morgan's case... well, Robin is technically the heir to the throne of Plegia, is she not?  
> That makes Morgan of royal blood, no matter who is his father.  
> Though the castle mentioned in this chapter is the one of Ylisstol, since Robin works there as Chrom's counselor along wiht Frederick


	3. Not an Inspection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran and the kids witness the arrival of soldiers at the village.

If she had to be completely honest, Kiran was scared half of the way into the forest with the group of seven men armed with axes and swords. Not because of the men, no, they were all very jolly towards the fact that they would now have someone on the lookout and seemed overall like nice people.   
No, she was rather scared because they were going into the woods, at night, purposely trying to attract the attention of a freaking bear.   
  


She had to remind herself of the fact that this was the afterlife to keep her shit together.   
Not that any of the men noticed, of course. If her society had given her one useful thing was the ability to pretend she was fine, and be good at it.

 

So they made their way into the forest. It didn’t take them long to find a bear, and the seven men all attacked at once. Kiran was told to stand by the trees and keep an eye out for other predators that might get attracted by the sound of the fight, and so she did. She didn’t contribute much to the fight, save for shooting once or twice to prevent the bear from slashing down one of the men, but aside from that she did her job and did it well.   
It hadn’t been hard at all, but she guessed some peace of mind was something valuable for those in the fray.

 

It was late when they returned to the village, victorious, proudly carrying the dead bear on a big log which all eight of them helped transport. The folk received them with applauses of amusement and smiles of relief over seeing this little mission have the best outcome possible.

Kana and Morgan also seemed proud of her.

 

They carried the bear over to the workshop of one of the men, who would take care of skinning it and stuff, and everyone congratulated each other before parting ways and going to their respective houses. 

At the inn, the woman thanked Kiran for agreeing to keep an eye out for the men and her husband and showed her and the kids over to a free room with three small beds.

 

—How was it, how was it? — _Kana asked, excited, bouncing on her bed, once they were alone and getting ready to sleep._ — Was the bear big? Was it scary?

—The bear was big, yes, but the men were strong. — _Kiran chuckled at her enthusiasm, taking her boots off and setting them to the side of her own bed._

—Thank you for going with them so we could spend the night here. — _Morgan smiled, placing his robe on the corner of the mattress._ — I don’t mind camping, but beds are simply better.

—It’s fine, I also wanted to sleep in a bed anyways. — _Kiran gave him a warm smile._ — I don’t know much about this place, so if I can help it, we’ll stay in inns where we have a roof over our heads and four walls around us to protect us.

—Thanks. — _Morgan’s smile widened, and he tucked himself under the covers._

—Are we going to sleep already? — _Kana continued to bounce on the bed_.— But I’m not sleepy!

—No? But we’ve walked all day! — _Kiran was surprised. Why did some kids have to have so much energy?_ — What do you usually do before going to bed?

—Daddy tells me stories! — _the little girl smiled, bright and cheerful, and then seemed to think of something_.— Oh, I know! Why don’t you tell us a story?

—Eh- But Morgan wants to sleep, no? — _the lady was surprised by the suggestion._

—Actually, I don’t mind. — _he smiled from his comfy position beneath the covers._

 

Kiran was tempted to give him the “you’re supposed to be on my side” look, but decided against it.

 

—Alright. — _she sighed and smiled softly_.— Get in your bed first, Kana, I’ll think of a story.

—Yay! — _the little girl celebrated._

 

As Kana crawled under the covers of her bed, Kiran looked at the small flame of the candle on her nightstand and thought.   
What story was she supposed to tell them?   
Anything would do, right?

 

—Let’s see… I don’t remember it very well, but I’ll do my best. — _Kiran warned_.— Ready?

—Yep! — _Kana grinned, and Morgan nodded with a childish smile almost as enthusiastic as the little girl’s._

 

Kiran couldn’t help but smile back as she breathed in and started her narration.

 

“ _There was a traveler and her speaking… dog, long ago, who roamed the world in search of interesting stories, going from one country to the other. They had a small personal rule, which was to never stay more than three days in each country they visited._ ”

 

—Why only three days? — _Kana interrupted_.— You can’t see much of a country in three days!

—These were small countries, the size of a big capital. — _Kiran explained_.— The traveler believed that, if she stayed more than three days, she wouldn’t be able to leave and continue on.

 

Kana made a hum of interest and comprehension, and the lady continued.

 

“ _Like many other times, they came across a country. Unlike many other times, however, in this country nobody went out to the streets to greet them. They didn’t find any people in the plaza, or in the market, nowhere_.”

 

—Why? — _Kana interrupted again, clearly not mean-spirited._

—Let her continue and you’ll find out. — _Morgan indicated, and the little girl let out a soft gasp of “oh, right!”_.

 

“ _Looking for a place to stay the night, they entered an inn. In said inn, they were received by a… talking doll, who was very kind to them, but sounded as if it could only repeat the same set of phrases over and over again._

_ Confused, the traveler and her dog spent a night in the inn nonetheless. Why were the streets empty? Why was a doll attending an inn?   
Where was everyone? _

_ When morning came around, the traveler and her dog took a walk around town, but found nobody. The following day was exactly the same. _

_ As they were leaving at the third day, they came across a pretty house in the outskirts of the city. On the entrance of the house was a man, watering the roses of the walkway. _

_ Surprised to see someone there, the traveler and her dog approached to ask him what was going on. The man was scared to see them, but his fear was quickly replaced with confusion as he looked at them without a word. _

_ He let them in the house and served tea. _

_ The traveler asked him where was everyone, where had the people gone? The man seemed sad to hear such a question, and told the traveler everyone was inside their houses, too scared to come out. _

_ The dog asked why. There was nothing wrong in the country, and everything seemed perfectly safe. Why would the people be scared to leave their houses? _

_The man explained to them that, not too long ago, everything was as it used to be. One day, however, the townsfolk discovered they had the ability to read each other’s minds_.”

 

—Whaaaaat?! — _both kids exclaimed, and Kiran was surprised to find them so engrossed in the story_.

—Let me continue. — _she chuckled._

 

“ _At first, it was all so very practical. There was no need to talk anymore. Communication was faster and simpler, everything seemed to be going great._ _   
As time went on, however, they realized they could no longer have… well, privacy for their thoughts. Everything they thought was heard by whoever was near, as if they were saying it out loud. Now nobody could think about anything! Lots of people fought each other because someone thought someone else was a bad person, or looked ugly, or things of the kind you keep to yourself and never say out loud. _

_ Eventually, nobody wanted to be near anyone. People started secluding themselves in their houses, only going out when it was urgent or necessary.   
_ _The man said that, since then, the country had had empty streets and the talking dolls had been taking care of the visitors and travelers._ ”

 

Kiran paused for a second, realizing she didn’t remember how exactly the story concluded. She had a vague idea, and if that vague idea was right then it would probably not satisfy the kids.   
So she came up with an alternative ending on the go, trying to resemble the idea of the original as best as she could.

 

“ _Luckily for the man, the traveler happened to be an expert magician. The dog asked if she could do something to help that country, and the traveler took a moment to think about it. She casted a spell to nullify the ability of people to read the other’s mind, and thanked the man for the tea._

_ As they walked out of the house, the man stopped them on the entrance to ask what had she just done. The traveler smiled to him and told him she’d given the country a small push, and it was now their turn to finish taking the first step forward. _

_ Leaving the man confused, the traveler and her dog walked out of the country. He watched them go and stood on the street, sad to see the first two someone's in a long while with whom he’d managed to have a nice conversation without reading their minds or having his' read leave so suddenly. _

_ He turned to walk back into his house, but the window of the house in front of his opened in that moment. He looked up at the lady about to water the flowers on her balcony and froze, watching her do the same. _

_ They stared at each other for a while until they both noticed they couldn’t read their minds.   
_ _And smiled_.”

 

Kiran looked up from her hands resting on her lap to find both kids sound asleep.   
She couldn’t even be mad.

 

The night went by with no problems, and when she woke up in the morning on the bed with the soft sleeping noises of the two children in the room, she was slightly surprised to still be in that realm.   
So was it truly the afterlife…?

 

She sat on the bed and tied her hair on a low bun, a bit messy but she honestly didn’t care as long as it held her mane back. Fitting her belt with the pouches and her boots, she walked to the curtains and peered through a small crack, finding the street below out the window.

According to her phone, it was around six thirty in the morning, and she could already hear the hustle and bustle of the villagers beginning their days.

 

Waking up the kids wasn’t easy, but it didn’t prove to be impossible. Morgan was a lot more obedient than Kana, but then again he was also older. The little girl tossed around in the bed, wanting to stay beneath the covers for five more minutes.   
Eventually, she managed to get both up and about, helping Kana untangle her hair and tie it in the high bun of the previous two days.

 

They made their way out of the room and to the entrance of the inn, being greeted by the same woman from yesterday.

 

—My husband went out with the rest of the men to meet the noble who requested the bear fur, he should be back soon to give you your part. — _the woman informed with a motherly smile_.— Do you want some breakfast, or are you planning to eat out? It’s on the house, by the way.

—Breakfast would be lovely, thank you. — _Kiran smiled, relieved, and ushered the kids to sit down at one of the tables._

 

Kana dangled her feet as she sat across the table from Morgan, who was balancing a fork on his fingers.   
The woman appeared from the door behind the counter with a tray of food.

 

It was nothing fancy. Homemade bread (like there was any other type in that realm, now that she thought about it), some homemade jams of strawberry and goldenberry, milk, orange juice and apples.   
But it felt very welcoming, and Kiran was very glad to have it.

 

—I don’t think I got your names yesterday. — _the woman spoke from behind the counter, leaning on it as she watched them eat._ — I’m Margharet, my husband’s name is Ron.

—Ah, I’m Kiran.

—My name’s Morgan, and she’s-

—I’m Kana!

 

Margharet chuckled in amusement.

Not long after, Ron returned to the inn. Apparently, the noble had been more than satisfied with their work and had stated he’d come back if he ever needed something similar.   
He gave Kiran a small sac of golden coins, which Kiran supposed were the currency. She didn’t really know if it was a lot or too little, but she didn’t really mind. It wasn’t as if she felt like she’d worked hard for it anyway, she’d just been lucky to arrive there in time.

She thanked the man and the woman for everything, and they left the inn as the couple waved goodbye.

 

Kiran tied the sac to her belt so it hanged near her pouches and walked into the street with the two kids in tow.

 

—What are we going to do now? — _Morgan asked_.

—Let’s head for the plaza and see if we have any luck, maybe strange things have been happening lately and there are some rumours we could investigate on. — _she suggested, and let out a sigh_.— Also I want to buy some things. Take a look at me right now and tell me I don’t stick out with my current clothes.

—Yeah! What’s this? — _Kana skipped to her side, pulling lightly on her shorts_.— I’ve never felt this fabric before.

—It’s called denim, it’s common wear from where I come from. — _Kiran told her, keeping her focus on the streets ahead._

 

They reached the plaza in no time, since it was a small village, and calmly walked around with their ears peeled. Most of the conversations were casual chit chat or small talk of the type that follows a friendly greeting. 

Kiran stopped by the few shops. She saw the prices again and tried to picture exactly how much money she had in the sac.   
If each coin represented a single unit, then she had a very juicy amount of money.

 

She bought a quiver, first and foremost, of basic simple design and shape: a wooden quiver covered in leather which she attached to her belt. There, she stored the ten pointy sticks and another ten arrows she bought from the same man. 

The next thing on her mental list was some form of cold protection and something to cover her shorts, which came in the form of a single, big cotton cloth colored a dark brownish green with a small triangular golden pattern on the smaller sides of the rectangle. She tied it around her waist, letting it hang slightly to the side to cover most of her shorts but leave room for the pouches and quiver to be at hand.   
If it got cold, she'd just wrap herself in it and use it as some sort of cape. It could also double as a blanket.

Lastly, she returned to the first store to buy a leather protector for her forearm, seeing as she would be using her bow a lot.

 

They were sitting by the fountain, eating some apples they bought from a merchant, when commotion was heard from one of the streets.

 

—Something’s going on there. — _Morgan pointed out_.

—Want to find out what? — _Kiran suggested, and both children gave her bright smiles._

 

It came from the same street they had entered the village by. A good chunk of the townspeople were congregating around a group of what seemed like soldiers atop horses, of the kind bred to traverse snow and sustain low temperatures. The crowd was walking towards the plaza slowly, the twenty or so soldiers dismounting and walking in the middle.

Kiran and the kids approached one of the men that had helped hunt the bear, who was standing around also checking out what the fuss was about.

 

—Are those soldiers? — _Kiran asked, standing to his side, gaze still on the crowd._

—You don't recognize their uniforms? Well, I do suppose you look like a foraster. — _the man looked at her for a second before returning his attention to the front_.— They're soldiers from the Royal Knights, and the one at the front is His Highness, Prince Hríd.

—A Prince…? — _Morgan pondered out loud._

—Royalty? — _Kana seemed excited._

—What is he doing here? — _Kiran, on the other hand, was confused._

—Beats me, the inspection is set two months from now. — _the man shrugged._

 

The crowd approached their position, occupying most of the street, so Kiran, the kids and the man stepped back a little.    
As they got closer, they managed to hear part of the conversation of the group surrounding the royal.

 

—Highness, wasn’t the inspection in two months? — _a woman asked, walking to his side but keeping her distance out of… reverence, maybe? The entire circle did the same_.

—Nothing bad has happened here as of late, if that’s what you lot came to see. — _an old man added._

—I certainly hope not. — _the one who was supposedly the Prince was taking off his traveling cape, folding it in his arms and walking calmly even as villagers surrounded him_.— This is not the inspection changing dates, it’s another matter entirely. Could you please assemble the council at the plaza?

—Sure thing, Highness. — _a man nodded and walked away from the group._

—Good. On a side note, I heard there was a request for bear fur made here not long ago. — _the Prince commented_.— How did it go? Please tell me there were no major injuries, I will be having a very serious talk with the requester if that’s the case.

—Oh, no, don’t worry! — _another man spoke, and Kiran realized it was one of those who went to hunt the beast_.— Only the toughest went, Highness. Besides, a traveller accepted to go with us to keep an eye on our surroundings.

—A traveler, you say? — _the Prince’s expression turned slightly serious, though none of the villagers seemed to notice._

—Yeah, arrived at the village yesterday. — _the man continued on, relaxed._

 

The crowd walked past Kiran’s position, and the conversation faded into the rest of the chatter. She followed the front group with her eyes, rather confused as to why the royal’s expression had changed when the man mentioned her. Were travelers not common?   
Who knew.

 

To her slight surprise, she saw the man turn around until he spotted her by the side of the street, point at her with a calmed smile, and the Prince turn to see.

Their gazes met, and Kiran held it with the relaxation of an outsider. His eyes were a strong, beautiful turquoise, almost glowing under the daylight even if there were twenty meters and a crowd between them.

The Prince looked away first, turning to face the soldiers behind him and saying something she wasn’t able to hear.

 

Whatever it had been, she hoped they weren’t in any trouble, considering three soldiers walked up to where they were standing. The man that had been with them had already walked away to the plaza to hear what was going on.   
Kana moved to stand slightly behind one of Kiran’s legs as they waited for the soldiers to come stand before them.

 

Two of them were men, one with freckles on his face, and sheathed swords hanging from their belts. The one at the front was a woman, apparently a higher rank than the other two judging by the slight difference in uniform, and had a strange compartment by her hip where a hardcover blue book was secured. They were dressed in white and teal warm clothes, golden armor covering their chests and shoulders, and a frost white cape waving down to their knees. All their clothing was adorned with golden or white patterns, and they all had an insignia near their chests which resembled a snowflake.   
Was that the crest of whatever kingdom they served? Probably.

They came to a stop a respectful distance from them.

 

—Greetings, miss. — _the woman smiled kindly, though still rather serious._ — We’ve received notice of you being a traveler. Is that true?

—Yes. — _Kiran simply said, not knowing where this conversation was going._

—Are you Niflese? — _asked the woman._

—… No. — _Kiran shook her head. What was a “Niflese”? Was that the demonym of this kingdom, or was it of a neighboring one? Regardless, she made sure to memorize that word._

—Would you mind telling us where you came from, then? — _one of the two soldiers behind the woman asked._

—I… — _Kiran began, trailing off. Maybe those soldiers would be able to help them, somewhat? It wasn’t as if they had many options on what to do, it was worth a shot_.— We don’t know. 

—… — _the three soldiers exchanged glances, and the woman continued_.— By “we” I assume you mean these two kids? — _Kiran nodded._ — Are they yours?

—No, we are just stuck in the same situation. — _she sighed._

—Care to elaborate? — _the other soldier inquired._

 

Kiran stared at them for a moment before looking down at the kids, who returned her gaze with cautious expressions.

 

—Two days ago, I woke up on the snow during the night, in… that direction, I think. — _she pointed towards the forest_.— These two kids were unconscious near me, so I carried them into the forest and made a small campfire so they wouldn’t freeze. When they woke up, neither could make a logical connection between what they had been doing before and ending up in the place where I found them. The same goes for me. — _she paused._ — We made our way to this village. Since we had no money and nowhere to stay, I accepted to join the men and hunt down that bear. We’ve asked around for directions to take the children back to their parents, but nobody here seems to know where their kingdoms are.

—And those kingdoms would be? — _the woman pressed kindly._

—Hoshido and Ylisse. — _Kiran stated._ — I don’t have a clue how to get there either, and to be honest we don’t even know where we are right now.

—Well, this is Nifl, the Kingdom of Ice. — _the woman said, and Kiran mentally thanked her_.— So you’re saying you don’t know how you even came to be here?

—No clue. — _Kiran nodded._

 

The soldiers went silent. They all looked as if they were pondering what she’d just narrated, trying to make sense of the story and judging whether it was true or not.

 

—What are your names? — _the freckled soldier broke the silence._

—I’m Kiran, and these two are Morgan and Kana. — _she patted the heads of the two kids._

—Right. Miss Kiran, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you three to come with us. — _the woman stated_.— It’s not that we  want to doubt your story, but please understand it’s rather…

—Strange? — _Morgan suggested._

—For a lack of a better word, yes. — _the woman nodded_.— Normally it wouldn’t be much of a problem, but lately the tensions with another kingdom not far from here have been growing, and our position as Royal Knights requires us to doubt anything remotely suspicious.

—We do not plan to harm you in any way, but until we have any other indications or sort out your situation, we must keep an eye on you. — _the other soldier added._

—We hope you understand. — _the freckled one commented._

—I do, I do understand. — _Kiran attempted to calm them down_.— I know this might not mean much due to our circumstances, but we mean no harm to the people of this kingdom, or to anyone in general.

—So we’re going with them? — _Morgan asked, looking up at her._

—It’s not like we had any other plans. — _Kiran noted, and the boy let out a sad chuckle with a “right…”_.— We might even find something out about this mess, who knows?

—This way, please. — _the woman turned to leave._

  
The three soldiers walked away, and Kiran, Morgan and Kana followed suit.    
The kids kept sending worried glances to Kiran, who couldn't do anything but pat their heads and give them a serious look of “if anything goes down, I’ll protect you”.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story Kiran told the kids is one of the episodes of Kino's Joruney (the original run, not the Beautiful World remake of, like, last year?)  
> I honestly didn't remember the ending of the episode as I was writing it and I couldn't be bothered to watch it sorry lol  
> The talking dog replaces Hermes the motorcycle and the talking dolls replace the robots taking care of the city
> 
> In this story, seeing as the only really important characters are our main three plus Hríd, there will be a lot of named secondary characters  
> Or extras, like Margharet and Ron. The inn is named Leila's inn because Margharet's grandma, Leila, was the one to start the business.   
> Add it to the list of useless information and details the author (me) comes up with while planning the story lmao hope you enjoyed


	4. The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran and the kids set out to travel with the Prince's posse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back lol

The three of them followed the soldiers over to the plaza, where the curious were gathering around and a small group of seven or so men and women were standing close to the fountain, facing the Prince. The rest of the soldiers were on standby to the sides, most of them with their horses, who were drinking from said fountain.   
It looked like a pretty casual gathering.

 

Kiran and the kids were led to stand by the sides with other soldiers, and Kana pulled on Kiran’s… blanket? Cold protection cloth? (Whatever, that thing she bought). 

 

—What is it? — _she kneeled down to the girl’s level._

—Can you carry me on your shoulders? — _Kana asked._ — I can’t see what’s going on.

—Oh, sure.

 

With Kana sitting on her shoulders and Morgan standing close, the three soldiers from earlier to her other side, they paid attention to whatever was being said by the fountain.

 

—I thought the council was comprised of eight of you? — _the Prince asked, and a few of the villagers around chuckled._

—Yes, well, Clara is sick so only the seven of us can be here right now. — _a woman of the small group at the front explained, an embarrassed smile on her face._ — I’ll tell her later about this.

—If that’s the case, then please do. — _the Prince sighed, straightening up, and everyone in the plaza went silent. Kiran had to admit she was impressed_.— We have come here to inform you… Múspell is acting up.

 

A quiet, concerned murmur spread through the public, shutting up the instant the royal parted his lips again to speak.

 

—We don’t have certainties of anything, but as matters keep getting worse we wouldn’t be surprised if this escalates into a war. — _he continued._

 

The crowd gasped.

 

—A war?! — _one of the men in the group exclaimed, scared._

—Weren’t they content with ravaging our neighbors...? — _the same woman from before asked, distraught, and another to her side placed a somewhat comforting hand on her back, just as worried._

—It would seem Múspell’s hunger for conquest wasn’t satisfied with only them. — _the Prince shook his head slowly, somber, crossing his arms._ — We have tried countless times to settle things peacefully and convince them to cease their aggressions, but it has proved to be futile. We came to warn you of this, seeing as this village isn’t far from the border.

 

There was concerned muttering all around the plaza, the only ones not turning to someone at their side being the Prince himself, the soldiers, and Kiran and the kids.

 

—You’ve heard of Múspell’s power. We will do everything within our own to resist their attack and push them back, but sadly, we cannot guarantee everyone’s safety against such an opponent. — _the Prince spoke again, silencing the crowd_.— The villages to the far south are ready to take in refugees from all over the Kingdom. We won’t force you to anything, but we will ask you to consider what options you have. We also apologise in advance, in case we… — _he breathed in_.— fail to stop them. That is all.

 

The villagers resumed their concerned muttering, this time evolving into full on debates and discussions on what to do. There were a couple of kids crying, and the small group by the fountain seemed to be the most calmed ones, though their expressions indicated they were just as scared of the whole situation.

Kiran felt Kana’s hold on her hair tighten a bit, and Morgan stepped closer.

 

The soldier to Kiran’s side, the woman from before, walked over to the horses by the fountain, where three other soldiers and the Prince were speaking.   
Kiran turned to the one that had been left next to her, the freckled one.

 

—Sorry, what’s Múspell? — _she inquired._

—Oh, it’s a kingdom not too far from here. — _the soldier looked at her._ — Nifl has never truly gotten along with them, and they were always very prone to violence as means to solve conflict, but… — _he sighed_.— We never really thought it would actually come to this point.

—If they’re as powerful as he said, do you really stand a chance? — _Kiran asked._

—Truth be told, if they decide to go all out on us, I don’t think we do. — _the soldier scratched the back of his head, looking to the ground_.— Their wyvern riders, manaketes and fire mages are just too powerful for us. Fire melts ice, you see.

—Wyvern riders…? — _Kiran repeated to herself, baffled, and looked to the fountain. So not only did dragons exist, but people mounted them. What the hell_.— What are “manaketes”? — _she looked down at Morgan._

—Eh- You don’t know? — _the boy was surprised._ — Manaketes are dragon people. They use stones called dragonstones to control their powers and shift between human appearance and dragon. They also live longer than us regular humans do.

—So… shapeshifters. — _Kiran breathed out, dumbfounded. It was a full blown fantasy setting she’d arrived to, wow. Then she remembered something_.— Wait, did you say dragonstones?

—Yeah, that’s what they’re called. — _Morgan simply nodded_.

—Kana… — _Kiran began. She was pretty sure the girl had called her precious rock a dragonstone_.— are you a manakete?

—Yeah. — _the little girl simply dangled her feet back and forth_.— My daddy is too, I inherited it from him.

 

Morgan had looked up at Kana, shocked, and Kiran had noticed the female soldier returning, the Prince following suit.   
They came to a stop in front of them.

 

—Miss Kiran. — _the woman stated, speaking to him, then turning to look at her._ — His Highness, Prince Hríd.

 

Kiran nodded softly with her head, not being able to bow slightly because of Kana, and looked at him for a moment. He carried a sword from his hip, and had a golden headpiece to the sides of his temple which probably indicated his status as royalty. His armor and clothes were very similar to the rest of the soldiers’, save for some extra golden patterns here and there.   
He seemed to be of strong build, around her age, taller than her by half a head, and his eyes were as intense as before, even more beautiful now that she could see them relatively closer.

After exchanging glances with Kiran, he turned to the soldier again.

 

—Captain, there are two other people here. — _he remarked, as if asking why she had omitted telling him their names._

—Oh. — _the woman was slightly surprised, returning her attention to the kids_.— Uh…

—They’re Morgan and Kana, Highness. — _Kiran saved her the trouble, and something in the woman’s eyes told Kiran she was mentally thanking her._

—Pleasure to meet you. — _the Prince smiled softly at the kids, before returning to a serious expression and facing Kiran._ — Would you mind telling me your story? I don’t really trust Captain Caroline’s short-term memory.

 

The woman- Caroline, apparently, almost pouted in frustration, but Kiran narrated the events again nonetheless.   
The Prince remained serious through it all.

 

After she was done, there was silence. The Prince seemed to be pondering the entire situation, and Kana ushered Kiran to get her down, apparently not liking the kind of attention she was getting from being up there in front of an imposing figure.   
So Kiran got her back down to the floor.

 

—Sir? — _the soldier pressured._

—I’m no expert in this field, Captain. — _the Prince stated_.— But to me, this sounds very similar to the legends of the Great Hero. If she’s telling the truth, that is.

—I am. — _Kiran sighed._ — Listen, I just want to find a way to get these two back to their parents.

—The only person I know who could help with that is my elder sister. — _the Prince turned to face her, serious._ — She’s all the way over in the capital, however. So you will come with us, we need to make sure you are indeed merely a traveler and not a spy from Múspell.

—Yes, Highness. — _Kiran sighed again. She understood the suspicion perfectly, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t slightly tiring._

—We depart after the horses have rested. — _he turned to Caroline_.— Inform the others.

—Yes, Sir.

 

Both the royal and the woman walked away briskly, and the freckled soldier to Kiran’s side leaned slightly.

 

—That’s some guts you have there, Miss. — _he commented, amused._

—What? — _Kiran was confused._

—You’re the first person I’ve seen who didn’t even flinch when meeting face-to-face with His Highness like that. — _the soldier chuckled._

—Why…? — _she trailed off._

—”Why”? Because he was scary, that’s why! — _Kana exclaimed._

—He was imposing, to be precise. — _Morgan intervened._ — Weren’t you even a little bit scared?

—Oh. — _Kiran caught on. Yeah, sure, with all his seriousness, expression, tone and figure no doubt other people would feel his presence. But, ah, there was something just oh so calming about her state. What do you have to fear when you’re more than probably already dead anyway?_ — I guess... I’m just used to scarier things. — _she eventually said, which wasn’t false considering half of her high school teachers had been horrible human beings and she was actually quite fond of visual horror storytelling._

—That’s… certainly ominous. — _Morgan seemed surprised._

 

Kiran simply shrugged, and they stood there, waiting for the soldiers to move out.

 

Ten minutes after, they were marching out of the village through a street she hadn't been before, a big part of the villagers waving them goodbye from their houses or the sidewalks. They had hopped each of the three of them atop a horse behind someone. Kiran sat behind Caroline, Morgan behind a guy with a low long ponytail and Kana in front of a woman with straight short black hair.

There were a total of twenty knights plus the Prince. Two of them, Kiran saw, carried a book near their hips like Caroline, and there were other three who seemed to be captains as well.  Two were archers just like her, and shot glances her way from time to time, as if intrigued by her compound bow. Four had swords hanging from their hips, five carried lances, three held axes and other three had some sort of staves with crystal spheres in one end and intricate design. Out of the twenty soldiers, six were women and the rest were men.

She had heard some names being tossed around, but she couldn’t quite put faces to them yet seeing as she hadn’t been paying much attention.   
Which she should, now that she thought about it, specially if they were going to be traveling with them for a while.

 

They traveled slowly through the snow, but still faster than what they would’ve done by foot. The horses didn’t seem to mind the climate much, but Kiran did feel the cold once they were out of the refuge of the streets and in the open.   
She had to untie the cloth around her waist to tie it over her shoulders like some sort of traveling cape, which did help a lot, though she was forced to hold her bow on her hand.   
She was wondering why they hadn’t confiscated her weapon.

 

Somewhere along the way, one of the soldiers ushered his horse to pull up to the one Kiran was riding on.   
Wanting any sort of distraction, she turned to look at what was going on. To her surprise, the soldier wasn’t wishing to talk to the Captain, but to her.

 

—Miss… Kiran, right? — _he asked, a calmed smile on his face._

 

Kiran stared at him for a moment. Judging by the position of the insignia on his uniform, he was probably a captain as well. His hair was dark and wavy, and had been pulled back into a careless bun, leaving several strands to frame his face. He had a stubble, and everything about him just screamed “chill/tired guy”.

 

—Yes. — _she nodded_.— And you would be?

—Captain Leroy, at your service. — _the man chuckled, as if amused by her asking for his name so directly._ — I was wondering, would you mind letting me take a look at that bow of yours?

 

She simply handed him her bow without another word, and watched the man take it carefully, observing it, tracing his fingers over the edges and the simple mechanism, as well as the material. Her bow, although being a compound bow, was not of the kind used in competitions. It was very simple, actually, but she did suppose the two soldiers’ bows were composite and hers was very different from what they were used to.

The other archer pulled up with his horse to also take a look at the bow.   
He shot a look at Kiran, hair a bit of a mess and some freckles on his face.

 

—Mind if I…? — _he began, pointing at the bow on Leroy’s hands._

—Go ahead. — _she simply nodded._

 

The two men examined the bow carefully, intrigued and amazed by what they were seeing.

 

An hour passed, and they were traversing a huge expanse of snow adorned with some occasional trees and bushes. The soldiers had returned Kiran her bow, and she was quite honestly getting kind of bored.   
A single look at the kids marching to her left was enough to confirm they were even more so than her. It wasn’t long before Kana, who was leaning back on the torso of the woman she was riding with, let out an exasperated whine.

 

—Kana. — _Kiran reprimanded softly._

—But! — _the girl exclaimed, clearly bored out of her mind._

 

Half of the soldiers shushed her kindly, and she pouted.

 

—This is soooooo boring! — _she crossed her arms in a small tantrum, her tone lowered nonetheless, and Kiran sighed. She couldn’t really blame her._

—There’s nothing we can do. — _Kiran simply said, and Kana’s pout calmed down a little, understanding._

 

There was silence for a moment, and part of the soldiers seemed a bit surprised the tantrum had ended there.

 

—Oh, I know! — _Kana suddenly exclaimed, leaning forward and placing her hands on the mane of the horse, a wide smile on her face as she turned to look at Kiran, who recognized that tone and phrase_.— Tell us another story, Kiran! But one less boring than last night’s, I fell asleep!

—Hey, it wasn’t boring! — _Morgan intervened from another horse, the soldier in front of him chuckling._

—If it’s fine with the rest, I don’t mind. — _Kiran chuckled too. Of course Kana would find that story a tad boring._

—Yay! — _the little girl celebrated, turning to look at the soldier behind her._ — Is it fine? Is it?

—W-Well… — _the woman didn’t seem to know what to answer her, smiling nervously._

—What do you say, Highness? — _Kiran asked calmly, leaning to the side of the horse so she could see the front better, pretending not to notice how Caroline flinched and half of the soldiers shot her shocked glances on how casually she was referring to the Prince._

—I don’t mind, suit yourselves. — _he simply answered, not even bothering to look back._

 

There was a sudden strange relief and happiness among the soldiers, and some sort of gratefulness directed towards Kiran. Why? She didn’t know. But it almost seemed as if they too were glad they were about to have some sort of distraction or entertainment.

 

Kiran looked aimlessly at Captain Caroline’s back, reviewing her mental library of stories, series, shows, movies and books of her realm and deciding which one to tell. Her public now was not only the two kids, but also a bunch of soldiers who, for all intents and purposes, sort of acted like kids as well.   
So she decided to tell them Disney’s Mulan.

 

Due to the lack of imagery, Kiran imitated the voices of each character, which at the beginning cracked the soldiers up a little, but Kana and Morgan were quick to shush them. Before beginning the story she had to give a little context on how Chinese society worked back then and how their conflict with the Huns played out, and a lot of the expectators seemed intrigued only by that, so it’s safe to say she had a pretty focused public.

Of course, Mulan being a Disney movie, there were songs. And Kiran opted to go along and sing them, not forcing her voice to match the notes in their entirety but playing it out more casually instead. In her eyes, she had three qualities she she was good at: marksmanship, drawing, and singing; she was decent at some other things, but flat out inept in a great majority of other matters.   
Like socialization.   
So casually singing Disney songs she knew by memory turned out to be a good decision, and most of the soldiers seemed to enjoy it. The only difficult part had been faking the voice of each character singing it, but she managed well enough.

 

—Somehow I’ll… make a man… out of you! — _Kiran sang with a tiny smile in Shang’s voice, and part of the soldiers chuckled, Kana clapping along the melody. She could feel Captain Caroline bouncing her body along. She switched to the fat soldier’s voice, who’s name she honestly didn’t remember_.— I’m never gonna catch my breath. — _now to the angry one_.— Say goodbye to those who knew me. — _to the slim/dumb one_.— Boy was I fool in school for cutting gym…

 

The soldiers laughed.

 

—This guy’s got ‘em scared to death. — _she continued with the dragon’s voice, and then switched to Mulan’s_.— Hope he doesn’t see right through me. — _back to the fat one_.— Now I really wish that I knew how to swim! — _she paused. She’d told the public before the song began she’d want them to repeat after her a certain phrase_.— Now, everyone with me. — _she signaled with her hands._

—Be a man! — _the soldiers chanted, happily, Morgan and Kana’s voices standing up slightly_.

—We must be swift as a coursing river. — _Kiran followed up with Shang’s voice._

—Be a man!

—With all the force of a great typhoon.

—Be a man!

—With all the strength of a raging fire. — _she lifted a hand to stop the chanting_.— Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!

 

The soldiers wooed and clapped, amused, enjoying this event they were having. Kiran continued on with the story, pausing the song for a bit to narrate the change in the Chinese through the number and how Mulan-Ping gets the arrow from the log.

As the song continued, the soldiers seemed to be memorizing the lyrics of the chorus, because at the last one Kiran was joined by a big majority.   
They did behave like kids. Well, nobody could blame them.

 

—Ahhh… — _Captain Leroy wheezed, calming down his laughter_.— Prince Shang reminds me of His Highness during our training days.

—Ha ha. — _the Prince deadpanned, turning to look at the man over his shoulder with a sardonic smile. So he was paying attention to the story?_ — Need I remind you I was the only one who realized from the very beginning Captain Caroline wasn’t a man?

 

There was nervous chuckling among the soldiers, the woman in front of Kiran sighing, and Morgan ushered Kiran to continue on with the story.

At that point, almost everyone seemed invested in it. They stopped her narration from time to time to ask questions or exclaim stuff, just like Kana had done last night.

 

—… our aching feet aren’t easy to ignore. — _Kiran sang along the next number, changing to the dumb soldier’s voice_.— Hey! Think of instead: a girl worth fighting for. 

—What? — _Kana was confused, and Kiran chuckled at how oportune that had been._

—That’s what I said! I girl worth fighting for. — _she continued in the same soldier’s voice, some of the men around chuckling_.— I want her paler than the moon, with eyes that shine like stars… — _she changed to the angry soldier’s voice_.— My girl will marvel at my strength, adore my battle scars… — _then changed to the fat one._ — I couldn't care less what she'll wear or what she looks like... It all depends on what she cooks like! Beef, pork, chicken-

 

There was an immediate “mmm!” among the soldiers, who all seemed to be picturing a good meal. They were probably very hungry, and Kiran couldn’t help but chuckle again at how everyone had just such good timing with that song.

 

—I’ve a girl back home who’s unlike any other. — _she later on went with the counselor’s voice, and the soldiers around huffed. They seemed to have come to dislike that character, and Kiran found it amusing. They’d huff or groan everytime he appeared. She changed to the angry soldier’s voice_.— Yet the only girl who’d love him is his mother.

 

The soldiers burst out in laughter. Kiran felt somewhat glad they were enjoying the story that much, it did seem as if they needed some relaxation from time to time in that trip where they went from one village to the other, warning about an upcoming war.

The ones not cheering on the story were the Prince, Captain Caroline, Captain Leroy, another man who seemed to be a captain too, the man Morgan was sitting behind and a soldier with dark brown hair and stoic face. Leroy, the other captain and the one with Morgan chuckled from time to time at the enthusiasm of the others, though.   
Kiran realized they acted like a very close school classroom. If they had all been training together since enrolling as soldiers, something the Prince’s early comment had somewhat implied, then it kind of made sense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we have named secondary characters bc if not this shit's going to get really confusing if Kiran refers to every soldier as "that one that came to speak to us at the first village, but not the one with freckles, the other one"-kun or whatever  
> Hope nobody minds lol None of them will get in the way of our main pairing/claim the spotlight if that's what anyone is worried for, bc I do see some fics doing stuff like this and that's my own main fear when what's essentially an oc gets a name or lots of plot relevance  
> so yeh


	5. Guard Shifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran and the kids reach and leave a second village.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your comments, they brighten my day!! <3

They arrived at another village, this one a tad bigger, at around three in the afternoon. Kiran didn’t really know if they were on their way back to the capital and making a stop there, or if the soldiers were just continuing with their mission of warning the townsfolk and her and the kids were being taken along until they reached the capital once they were done.   
At this point, though, she was embarrassed to ask, because either option seemed obvious.

 

The snow around them had receded, even if the cold hadn’t, meaning they were moving towards more tropical lands. Whether that meant they were heading south or north, Kiran didn’t know.

 

—Captain, where is the capital? — _Kiran asked softly, curious, and added for clarification._ — In cardinal directions regarding us, I mean.

—Ah- To the south. — _the woman in front of her answered without looking back_.— We’re visiting the bordering villages in this area first because, if a war does begin, they would be the first ones to face danger.

 

Kiran hummed in comprehension.

 

A very similar scene to the one in the previous village happened again, though this time Kiran and the kids were not in the crowd but in the group surrounded by it.   
It was… a strange feeling, to say the least.

 

—Get down. — _Captain Caroline commanded as she dismounted with ease_.— We’re having lunch here.

 

They walked next to the horses to the main plaza and waited by the fountain for the Prince to update the villagers on the situation of the Kingdom. Kiran untied the cotton cloth around her shoulders and returned it to her hips, since it wasn’t as cold. The kids approached her among the horses.

 

—Miss Kaolin said we’re going to eat lunch. — _Kana commented with a smile, patting rhythmically on Kiran’s lap as she sat by the fountain._

—Who? — _she was confused for a second. Kaolin? Maybe one of the soldiers?_

—The lady I was riding a horse with. — _the little girl grinned._ — Her name is Kaolin.

—Really? — _Kiran gave her a little smile, and her grin widened. Her attention shifted to the boy_.— Did you ask for the name of the soldier you were with?

—Oh. Uh… no. — _Morgan looked down, an embarrassed smile._ — Sorry.

—No, don’t apologise, I was just curious. — _Kiran chuckled, ruffling his hair._

 

They waited by the horses for the Prince to finish the discussion currently going on with the villagers. The rest of the soldiers were either on standby to the sides or brushing the horses’ manes, which were drinking water from the fountain. Kana continued to pat Kiran’s lap with her hands along an unknown rhythm, and Morgan sat quietly at her side, resting.

Some ten minutes passed until a soldier, one of the two that had been with Captain Caroline when she approached them for the first time (not the freckled one), walked up to them with a calm smile.

 

—We’re going to eat, Captain Caroline sent me to fetch you. — _he chuckled, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder_.— Come on.

—Food!! — _Kana celebrated, bouncing up and down on her place._

—I was getting hungry. — _Morgan commented, standing up._

 

The posse of soldiers were gathering in a small tavern, so they followed… uh...

 

—What’s your name? — _Kana asked with an adorable smile as they walked to the place_.

—Garret, young lady. — _the soldier chuckled._

 

Garret. They followed Garret there.

 

They filled almost the entire place. Four tables were occupied by four soldiers each, Kiran and the kids taking one for themselves, and the four captains with the Prince in another one. They ate vegetable soup and mashed potatoes with fried chicken, the Prince shutting down any attempts of the soldiers to order beer and having everyone take a glass of water or something without alcohol.

Part of the soldiers complained in a strange collection of whines and pouting, but the royal crossed his arms like a strict mother and remarked them having drank beer the day prior already.   
To which everyone shut up and returned to eat.

 

The departure from the village half an hour later was filled with “take care”s and “do your best”s from the townspeople. It truly did sound like they were sending them off to war, what with the worried expressions and the concerned tones. Sitting behind Captain Caroline, Kiran couldn’t help but feel as if they were getting accidentally caught up in an even bigger mess.

 

They made their way back to the snowy fields as the sky tinted orange and red from the sun setting on the horizon. When night came around, they stopped down a hill next to a river and began setting camp. Four soldiers left the group to search for sticks and logs, five of them took care of the horses and the rest made the tents.   
Apparently, they shared tents in pairs (the only exception being the Prince, since they were an odd number anyway) and carried a couple of extra cloths for additional tents.

 

—Captain Pete fell on one some months ago while we were on an expedition and part of his armor got stuck, tearing half of the tent open. — _the soldier who’d been traveling with Kana, Kaolin if she remembered correctly, sighed when they asked why_.— We also lost one to the wind at some point back in training, so it’s become common practice to carry spares around.

 

Well, that made sense.

And it meant Kiran and the kids had a tent to themselves, which the soldiers helped them set up among the others.

 

Captain Leroy, Kaolin, the soldier who’d traveled with Morgan and a blond soldier with a very short low ponytail prepared soup after the campfire was started with the help of one of the ones who carried a book like Captain Caroline, which was a red one.   
Considering it was the same color as Morgan’s book and he could also create fire, Kiran supposed they were using some sort of similar magic tome.

 

During dinner around the campfire with the somewhat loud chatter of the soldiers, Morgan turned to her for a moment.

 

—His name is Raine. — _the boy noted, and she was confused for a second._

—Uh, who? — _Kiran looked down to her side to see him, tearing her gaze from the hypnotizing flames._

—The soldier I was riding a horse with. — _Morgan simply added_.— I asked his name. It’s Raine.

 

It took Kiran a second to realize he was bringing back the topic they’d briefly mentioned at the last village. Had he really asked him just because she’d been curious?

 

—Oh. That’s good. — _Kiran smiled softly._ — While I’m almost sure I’m the main suspect here since you two are simply children, being kind and showing no qualms with interaction is good. We have to make sure they understand we’re not here to spy on them or whatever it is they think we could be doing. — _a tiny chuckle escaped her, and the boy’s smile widened a bit before returning to eat._

 

The soup had been delicious to her, and if Kana chugging down her bowl and Morgan asking for seconds eagerly were anything to go by, it seemed to have been a common consensus.

 

—Alright, take one. — _the Prince’s voice over the chatter brought her attention to what was going on among the soldiers. They had quieted down, and the royal was holding a handful of small sticks in one fist, moving it close to the soldier to his left._

 

The man being offered the sticks took a second to examine them cautiously before pulling one from his grasp. Kiran noticed the insignia on his uniform and concluded he was another Captain, eyes a kind amber color and hair a short messy mop of brown.

He looked at the stick he had pulled out and sighed with a tiny smile.

 

—Second. — _he announced, showing off the wooden piece to the rest, who seemed disappointed._

—It’s not fair, why does Captain Kenneth always get to pick first? — _a female soldier asked in a half pout, sitting not far from Kiran (who took mental note of the name), her hair short in unruly reddish locks._

—Why, because he’s one of the few here who actually behaves properly. — _the Prince deadpanned, partially as a reprimand, making some of the men chuckle and the woman who’d spoken cross her arms in a full on pout. The royal turned to the one next to Captain Kenneth, Kaolin, offering her the sticks_.— Your turn.

 

Kaolin looked at the sticks and pulled one, her expression sinking into one of “why has luck forsaken me”.

 

—Well, what is it? — _another soldier, Garret, Kiran recognized, pressed with a grin._

—Seventh. — _Kaolin chuckled sadly, elbowing the soldier next to her softly_.— Darwin, your turn.

—Hm? — _the man seemed to come back down to Earth after having been staring at the flames for the entire meal, turning his bored eyes and stoic face to the hand gripping the sticks in front of him. He picked one nonchalantly and examined it, apparently without a single care_.— Fourth.

—Ah, my turn, right? — _the one following smiled meekly, eyeing the sticks. He had light brown hair and soft dusty blue eyes, and seemed to be the youngest of the group. He picked a stick and looked at it, expression lightening up and smiling brightly_.— Yes! First!

 

The rest of the soldiers groaned in defeat as the smiling one grinned in satisfaction, enjoying whatever victory that represented.   
Kiran had no idea what was going on.

 

—What are they doing? — _Morgan asked, curious and confused, looking as Captain Caroline picked a stick._

—No clue. — _Kiran simply said, Kana at her other side finishing her third bowl of soup. Captain Caroline looked smug at the rest of the soldiers._

—First. — _she stated, and high fived the young one to her left without turning to look, the others complaining childishly._

—Uh, what are you guys doing? — _Kiran asked the soldier sitting next to Kana, a lady with dark brown hair pulled back in a messy circular braid and gray distracted eyes._

—Oh, we’re picking guard duty shifts. — _the soldier pointed to the Prince’s hand holding the sticks, now in front of Captain Leroy._ — We go in pairs, so we have ten duos that switch along the night in the order assigned by the sticks.

—But why are the ones who got first celebrating? — _Kana asked, curious, Morgan paying close attention from the other side of Kiran. Captain Leroy sighed in defeat as he announced “sixth”._

—Because nobody wants to wake up in the middle of the night, so it’s best if you get first or second since you can just wait awake. — _the soldier shrugged, looking down at the little girl as she explained, and Kana hummed in comprehension._

 

The sticks continued to be passed from soldier to soldier without much interruption, until the one that had been traveling with Morgan (Raine, was it?) picked one.

 

—Tenth. — _he simply said, not too relieved but also not disappointed. Kiran supposed it was because, since they did it in duos and they were twenty not counting the Prince, the tenth turn was the last one and therefore it just meant waking up a bit earlier._

—Right, we’re doing eleven turns from now on. — _the Prince intervened._

—What? Are we? — _Raine seemed caught off guard, and the rest of the soldiers shut up to pay attention._ — How? You can’t go alone, Sir.

—I won’t. — _the Prince shook his head no, turning to face Kiran, out of all people. She was also caught off guard._ — You will stay on guard with me, Miss Kiran. We might be taking you along until we reach the capital, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be doing anything to contribute. 

—Ah- — _Kiran blinked in surprise. And he wanted to be the one on guard duty with her because it was best to keep a close eye to their suspect, made sense_.— Yes, of course.

—I’ll go wake you up when it’s time. The kids don’t have to participate on this, they can sleep. — _the Prince added, moving his hand with the sticks to another soldier to continue on_.— Pick one, we want this for tonight.

—Nn- — _the soldier being offered the sticks seemed to snap out of his distraction, much like the rest of them after that short and oddly casual intermission. His hair was straight and down to his neck, a sand brown color and dark eyes. He picked a stick and looked at it_.— Third.

 

The picking of sticks went on for some more minutes and the soldiers were left to recognize their partners for that night’s guarding shifts. Once one of the female soldiers stood up and announced jokingly she was going to get her beauty sleep, her apparent tent companion followed after and Kiran decided it was a good idea to also call it a day.

 

She helped the kids settle inside the tent underneath the two blankets the soldiers had lent them and wrapped herself with the cotton cloth, before Kana spoke up.

 

—What are we going to do when we reach the capital? — _the little girl asked, her back against Morgan’s to fit under the sheets._

—Ask the Princess for help to get you two back to your parents. — _Kiran simply said._

—But what about you? — _Morgan inquired, lifting his head a bit to look at her._

—What do you mean?

—How are you going to prove you’re not a spy from… what was it, Múspell? — _the boy sounded concerned_.— You have nothing to prove your innocence.

—True, but they have nothing to prove me guilty either. — _Kiran noted._

—Yeah, so what; will you stay a suspect forever? — _Morgan insisted._

—Who knows? Right now we gain nothing by worrying about it. — _she simply shrugged, though he probably couldn’t see it in the darkness._ — Our main priority is returning you home.

—But...

—Morgan. — _Kiran turned around so her voice reached him better. Kana seemed to have fallen asleep, thank the gods._ — They won’t harm me just because I’m a suspect, and they will never have evidence to prove me guilty of being a spy, because I’m not. — _there was a small pause._ — Now sleep, tomorrow will be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there are a ton of soldiers (20) so here lemme make a small list of those that have been named thus far so nobody is confused (they're all mounted btw). I'll even add in their weapons just because lol:
> 
> -Captain Caroline, Blárowl+ (blue tome): the one Kiran rides a horse with and the same one that approached them at the first village by orders of Hríd  
> -Garret, Brave Sword+: the one who lead them to the tavern to eat and one of the two accompanying Caroline when they approached them at the first village (not the freckled one, he doesn't have a name yet)  
> -Captain Kenneth, Poleaxe+: hasn't done much, but was the first one to pick a stick. Was also of the ones who weren't outwardly cheering like highschoolers when Kiran told them Mulan, but did chuckle from time to time  
> -Kaolin, Gravity+ (staff): the one Kana rides a horse with, who told them about the extra tents thing, and one of the ones that cook dinner. Also the second to pick a stick  
> -Captain Pete, Brave Lance+: hasn't done much either, but is part of the reason why the carry extra tents  
> -Darwin, Hammer+: was the third one to pick a stick, also of the ones who weren't cheering when Kiran told them Mulan. Wasn't actually paying attention either  
> -Captain Leroy, Firesweep Bow+: was the first to ask Kiran to see her bow, is of the group that cooks dinner, and was the sixth one to pick a stick  
> -Raine, Gravity+ (staff): the one Morgan rides a horse with, part of the group that cooks dinner, and also the one who picked a stick right before Hríd intervened
> 
> When we have a lot of them named I will make an image or something and link it here if you guys want


	6. Bullet Scar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran and the kids spend yet another day with the soldiers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's chapter 6 and Kiran and Hríd are having their first decend conversation  
> Have I mentioned this is a slow burn? lol my bad

Kiran was woken up by someone shaking her slightly by the shoulder, and opened her eyes groggily to find one of the soldiers holding an oil lamp to illuminate the tent and her face. It was that one red-haired girl who complained about Captain Kenneth getting to pick sticks first, and she was in full gear.   
She then remembered she also had guard duty. So that girl probably had her shift with… his name was Raine, right? And was therefore passing her the torch, in this case the lantern.

 

—Rise and shine, missy, you’re up for guard duty. — _the soldier announced in a whisper so as to not wake the kids, a kind and playful yet also tired smile on her face._

 

Kiran made a noncommittal noise and sat up, following the redhead outside the tent after fitting her boots on and tying the cotton cloth she’d used as blanket back to her hips. Guessing it was necessary for guard duty, she also took her bow and arrows along.

 

—Good luck. — _the redhead patted her on the shoulder with a grin and left for, presumably, her own tent to try and get some more sleep in._

—Ready? — _the Prince’s hushed voice caught her off-guard, making her turn around to find him standing there. She hadn’t even noticed his presence_.— Still sleepy?

—Eh- Yeah, sorry Highness. — _Kiran blinked to get into her senses properly and suppressed a yawn._ — I’m not a morning person.

—I figured. — _the Prince simply nodded, his tone ever so gentler_.— I apologise for not waking you myself like I said, but I wasn’t certain if you’d have a problem with a man walking into your tent at night. — _he looked up to the moon_.— Luckily, Jace was in the previous shift so I sent her instead.

—Oh. — _Kiran blinked again. She’d completely forgotten he’d said he’d go himself. She took mental note of the redhead’s apparent name._ — Honestly I- — _she stopped to choose her words, guessing an “I couldn’t care less” wasn’t really something appropriate to tell a royal._ — I don’t really mind either way.

—Good. — _the Prince returned his attention to her, turning to walk away, one hand constantly on the pommel of his sword hanging from his hip._ — Let’s go.

 

Kiran nodded softly and followed suit, compound bow hanging from her shoulder and hand holding firmly to the lantern.

The guard shift was surprisingly… calm.

 

They walked slowly around the small camp they’d set up and the nearby areas, the tents always in sight, in a strange silence interrupted only by their steps, the occasional bird and the crickets. Prince Hríd walked a meter to her left, a serene and serious expression on his face and one hand resting on his weapon at all times. Kiran, meanwhile, wasn’t paying much attention to what was going on around her and instead had her sights focused on the starry sky, banking on the fact that her companion would probably notice something wrong or suspicious before her anyways.

 

—You will trip if you keep your attention up there. — _he commented at some point, tone almost resembling a lecturing one, volume low to let the soldiers stay asleep. So he wasn’t calling her out on not paying attention to the surroundings, like she should be doing?_

—Is it possible to trip over snow? — _Kiran asked, amused, not really looking down from the sky._

—You can trip over the grass knots underneath.

—But they’re under the snow.

—You’re not walking  _ on  _ the snow, you’re walking  _ through _ the snow.

—I’m still stepping on the snow, though.

 

There was a small, nearly silent, exasperated sigh from him.

 

—Suit yourself.

 

Kiran had to stop herself from huffing proud and cocky in victory.

 

The walking went on for several minutes more before the sky started to light up with the sunrise. By that time, they’d climbed up the small hill overlooking the camp, so they had the perfect view of the crack of dawn over the trees and mountains in the distance.   
Kiran extinguished the small flame inside the lantern and looked over at the sunrise.

 

The Prince noticed her having stopped walking, and stopped in his tracks as well.   
He turned to look at her.

 

—What way is the sunrise? — _Kiran asked softly, mesmerized, feeling the icy breeze on her face._

—What do you mean? — _the Prince inquired, tone slightly gentler._

—That. — _she pointed at the sun and turned her face to see him._ — Is it the west? Or is it the east?

—That’s… the sun rises from the east. — _the Prince seemed confused at her lack of that particular knowledge, which to be fair should be something everyone knows in that place._

—So it’s the same… — _Kiran pondered to herself, though with the silence he probably heard her as well._

 

She returned her gaze to the sunrise. Well, it was nice to have that confirmed, though she should’ve been able to figure it out with the previous day’s sunset if they were indeed going south.   
Whatever.

 

It was around five forty in the morning, not long after dawn, when they walked into the center of the camp and the Prince let out the loudest whistle Kiran had ever heard in her life.

 

—Up and about, we’re moving out! — _he ordered, loud and clear, and movement inside the tents immediately began being heard._

 

Kiran grimaced and excused herself back to her tent, thinking how to amend such a harsh awakening for the kids.

 

Morgan and Kana weren’t fully awake by the time they were hoisted up on the horses with their respective companions and the small posee of soldiers had set on southwards once again. The early morning was cold and bright, the horses and their riders casting long and strong shadows on the almost shining snow beneath them. Kana quickly fell asleep again against Kaolin’s torso, and Morgan was barely but stubbornly hanging on to consciousness.

It was only at around eight in the morning that they made a stop to rest the horses a bit and have a quick breakfast. They took the time to stretch properly and wake up the kids for good before setting out yet again.

 

The rest of the day went by in an equally monotonous and uneventful fashion. They had a brief lunch at around two in the afternoon and made another shortstop later on to hunt down dinner.

 

It was now almost seven in the evening, the moon was out, and they had set camp surprisingly early in a thicket of woods they had entered not long after lunch. The reason for the early stop on the marching was, apparently, the presence of a lake not far from there where they would be taking turns to bathe.

 

—As usual, move out and don’t be late. — _the Prince had warned, setting his tent and not really bothering to turn and look at them._

 

So Captain Caroline had been the one to explain to Kiran and the kids.

 

—We’re splitting in three groups to take turns to bathe. — _she stated, towels in hand._ — It’s our turn to go first this time, the ladies group, so get your and Kana’s stuff ready.

—What about Morgan? — _the little girl asked, confused._

—The guys will take care of him, he will be sorted into one of their groups. — _the redhead, Jace if Kiran recalled correctly, grinned at Kana._

 

They explained the plans to the boy and got their things ready, which meant just following the ladies group since they had no change of clothes nor towels and the soldiers were lending them the latter.

 

The lake was barely illuminated by the moon, what with all the threes in the way, so they brought lanterns along. It had a crescent moon shape, going around several bushes and plants casting shadows over the calm waters. There were a couple of fireflies on the opposite shore, and aside from that it was a very peaceful location.   
It was fucking freezing though.

 

Kiran manned up and followed the ladies to the shore, where they were setting their stuff to the side and dipping their legs into the water tentatively. It was clear none of them planned on fully diving in, nobody wanted to get hypothermia, but everyone seemed to be trying a different method of cleaning themselves with the freezing water.   
Kana did jump head first into the lake, much to most of the ladies’ dismay and utter shock.

 

—Kana, you won’t get hypothermia, right? — _Kiran called out from the shore as the soldiers panicked slightly, the little girl emerging calmly from the water._

—No. — _Kana kicked the water around her, clearly enjoying herself_.— I need to wash my scales, and I can only do that underwater.

—You need to what. — _Kiran repeated._ — I’m sorry, what-?

—Can you pass me my dragonstone, Kiran? — _Kana turned to her, moving her arms and legs to float in the water._ — Please?

—Uh- sure…

 

As the soldiers observed in confusion, Krian picked the shiny stone from where the girl had placed it by the towels and quiver and tossed it over to her in the water. Kana caught it, submerged herself, and they all witnessed a soft light radiate from underwater.   
When the little girl emerged, she wasn’t a little girl. She was a strange deer-like scaled creature with sharp horns and a long tail, swimming in the lake and playing with the ripples.

 

—What in the… — _one of the soldiers began, a woman of short walnut colored hair and dark brown eyes, who was chickening out of dipping her toes into the water._

—Miss Kiran…? — _Captain Caroline turned to her, confused, demanding answers._

—I, uh… — _she simply shrugged slowly, shaking her head no, words fizzling out at the lack of answers to give._

 

They simply stared at the… well, at the dragon for a while before resuming their bathing activity, else the other group come kick them out.

 

Kiran sat by the shore and opted to test the water first. To her surprise, it wasn’t actually as freezing cold as the temperature in the air would lead someone to believe. Why were the ladies all chickening out from it when they lived in a cold kingdom was beyond her.

So, with the cotton cloth around her waist, she quickly stripped off of her boots, socks, shorts and leggings and set them to the side, tucking her underwear somewhere in there as well. She held the ends of the cotton cloth and walked into the water, lifting it as she went so it wouldn’t get wet. She tied it shorter so it would cover her waist and upper thighs and stood there in the water, taking her scarf and shirt off.

 

—Aren’t you cold? — _one of the girls asked, and by the voice it had to be the one with walnut hair. Also by the voice she was probably talking to her._

—The water isn’t as freezing as I thought it was. — _Kiran simply answered, setting the clothes aside with the rest and reaching for the hem of her sports bra._

 

When she looked down, however, she noticed something on her chest, in the space between her collarbone and her left breast.   
A bullet wound.

Kiran froze.

 

Why was there a bullet wound? Hadn’t she died from the shot? Why would she have a wound of that if she was in the afterlife?   
Or maybe…

But no, it made no sense! Why would she be pulled into that… that realm if it wasn’t the afterlife?

 

Her fingers reached for the slightly raised then sunken skin in the form of a meteorite crater and brushed over it, feeling it. It was there. It was real. It felt itchy when she touched it and somewhere in her brain it shook the memory of the immediate pain it probably brought her.   
Then her fingers recoiled and reached around her back, finding the exit wound.   
The bullet had gone straight through her.

 

—Is something the matter, missy? — _Jace’s voice asked from the side, bringing her out of her thoughts._

—Oh- No, it’s nothing. — _Kiran simply said, one hand still over the scar._

 

They bathed for five more minutes, Kiran and Kana being the only ones to enter the lake; dried up, got dressed again and returned to the camp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah  
> I guess we can add the new name to the list:
> 
> -Jace, Slaying Edge+: Was the one that complained about Captain Kenneth picking sticks first, also the one who woke up Kiran for her guard shift.
> 
> the thot plickens lol


	7. Arrival at Castletown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran and company reach the capital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well since Hríd will shortly be in the game, I sure hope I can manage to continue writing him without having to add ooc to the tags or clarify the fact that yes, this Hríd was headcanoned before he was released lol

—So, how was the water? — _one of the soldiers asked with a grin at the sight of the ladies group returning to the camp, short dark brown hair and brown eyes._

 

Judging by the insignia placement on his uniform, Kiran supposed he was another captain. And considering there were four, and she knew the faces and names of Caroline, Leroy and Kenneth, then that meant this man was Captain Pete.

 

—Freezing cold. — _the woman with walnut short hair answered, trembling exaggeratedly to humour the rest of the men, who chuckled at the display. Kiran gave her a slightly puzzled look._

—Was it, now? — _another soldier asked, amused, a full on ginger boy with orangy hair, freckles and green eyes. Those same eyes landed on Kiran._ — Well, the missy’s expression tells me otherwise.

—Eh- — _Kiran was caught off guard_.— That’s because-

—It wasn’t freezing cold! — _Kana intervened, giving the previous female soldier a lecturing tone_.— The water was great!

—Yes, well- It wasn’t… unbearable. — _Kiran clarified._

—You two just have nerves of steel. — _the walnut haired girl gave them a scandalized look, clearly for added dramatic flare._

 

The soldiers chuckled again before the Prince appeared from one of the tents and ushered the next group to go bathe already. As eight of the men moved out, Kiran took a look at those who remained around the campfire with them: there was Captain Kenneth, that blond soldier with a short low ponytail, Garret, the freckled one who’d been with Caroline when they met her, one with sand brown hair, another with light brown hair, Morgan, and Prince Hríd.

The ladies took seats around the flames, Kiran and Kana going next to the boy.

 

—You’re going in the next group? — _Kana asked, a towel still over her head. Kiran proceeded to dry her hair with it._

—Yeah, they had a small discussion over which group should I go with. — _Morgan commented, amused._ — They said something about splitting eight-eight and sending me to the Prince’s group so they could put Terry with Darwin, or something like that.

—Sounds like shipping to me. — _Kiran murmured, and Morgan gave her a confused look, though didn’t pry._

 

They spent around seven minutes just sitting by the campfire, the soldiers cleaning their weapons and otherwise relaxing in the warmth of the flames, and those who had gone to the lake returned shortly after that time mark. Morgan left them there to tag along with the others, and some six minutes more passed before they were all sitting around in the grass watching the cooking team work.

 

—Alright. — _the Prince spoke, fetching something from his pouch._

 

Kiran looked over at his gloved hand retrieving… the sticks.   
She had to hold back a chuckle. The idea of the Prince carrying those sticks everywhere in his pouch was a very entertaining one, even if they were small and shouldn’t occupy much space.

 

—Pick one. — _his fist went over to Jace._

—Wha- Me? — _she seemed surprised, but picked one nonetheless with a huge smile, apparently liking the fact that she was going first. Her smile immediately disappeared when she looked at the stick she’d taken, and she gave the Prince an “are you serious” face_.— This was on purpose.

—No, it was not. — _Hríd simply replied, unfazed._ — You were complaining Captain Kenneth always picked first.

—It’s called karma. — _a soldier with very short brown hair added, a shit-eating grin plastered all over his face._

—That’s not how karma works, you dumbass. — _Jace retorted._

—Jace, there are kids present! — _one of the female soldiers reprimanded, one with very light blonde hair almost bordering on orange and freckles on her face under her baby blue eyes_.

—What number did you get, anyway? — _Garret asked, amused by the exchange._

—… — _Jace almost pouted_.— … Seventh.

 

The short haired soldier bursted out in laughter and had to be calmed down by Kaolin and Raine at his sides. After Kiran took mental note of his name, which turned out to be Collin, the group continued picking sticks until they had their guarding shifts order ready.

The girl with the walnut colored hair (whose name was apparently Gabby) and Captain Leroy were on the first shift, and Kiran and the Prince were fixed on the eleventh one.

 

They retreated to their respective tents and called it a day.

 

—Kiraaaaaaaaaaaan. — _Kana called out softly as she tucked the kids under the blankets._

—What is it? — _Kiran didn’t turn to see her, untying the cotton cloth around her waist._

—Can you tell us a bedtime story? — _the little girl asked._

—Only if Morgan is okay with that too. — _she stated, and at the boy’s puzzled look, she corrected_.— Only if Morgan is fine with that, I meant.

—Oh. Well, I am. — _Morgan smiled, getting comfortable under the covers._

—Then let me think of a story.

 

Kiran pondered in silence. What to tell them? What could work decently as a bedtime story for those two kids? It couldn’t be too long, else they would get bored.   
Maybe an overly-simplified story would be good enough?

 

—...Right. — _Kiran spoke to herself, turning to the kids after the short silence._ — Ready?

 

After the enthusiastic nod of the kids, she proceeded to tell them the entirety of The Gray Garden, omitting, of course, the fucked up details about most of the story and all of the bad endings because… they don’t need to know that.

 

Kiran woke up when it was still dark by something poking her leg slightly. She opened her eyes with reluctance and, thanks to light coming from a lantern over her, she scanned the tent to verify that, yes, the kids were still asleep.   
So she turned to the person poking her leg with what turned out to be their boot.

 

—Guard duty. — _the Prince simply stated, though hushed, standing tall inside the tent and holding the lantern over her to emphasize his point._

 

She groaned a noncommittal noise and shifted awake, following him out after fitting her boots, picking up her bow and quiver and tying the cotton cloth back around her waist.

 

Guard duty was, again, quiet. She held the lantern and walked along, this time opting to actually look around at the woods instead of watching the stars between the leaves. 

Thankfully, it ended before long and yet again she was rushing to the tent after the Prince’s ear-shattering whistle.

 

—Up and about, we’re moving out!

 

Two more days were spent travelling on horseback, in which they came across two more villages. They stopped there to eat and buy some stuff, but otherwise were always out in… the nonexistent road.

During the trip, Kiran saw herself being nudged by Kana to tell them more stories, both during the day and before sleep time. She narrated Disney’s Hercules and The Emperor’s New Groove to the kids with the soldiers as audience, and they loved both of them. While they did seem a little disappointed when she told them the latter didn’t have any songs, they still laughed so much Hríd had to step in to shut them up.

For nighttime tales, she settled for the siblings’ episode of The Ancient Magus’ Bride and My Neighbor Totoro.

From what she gathered, the kids loved them both too.

 

Kiran had doodled some stuff on her small notebook and taken a whole page to write down the names of the soldiers and something about them, seeing as they were twenty and she had always had trouble remembering names.

She learned they were divided in four groups, each including four soldiers and one captain (the Prince didn’t count) and serving a different purpose in battle/for the formation.    


Captain Caroline’s group was comprised of Garret, Gabby, the freckled soldier who’d been part of the three that approached them at the first village (his name was Dave), and a relatively quiet man named Victor. They were the second line support group, and their job was to switch out with the main defensive line in case any of them had injuries.   


Captain Kenneth’s group had the most girls in it, and included Kaolin, that one girl with baby blue eyes named Shanon, the distracted one who’d explained to Kiran what were they doing by picking sticks (her name was Kim), and a full on gentleman named Vidar. They were the anti-cavalry group, and they mostly took a seat along the second lines when they weren’t fighting squads of armed men on horseback.   


Captain Pete’s group was also the group Jace was in, along with Darwin, Collin and the blond soldier with the short ponytail who cooked dinner, whose name was Neil. They were the vanguard, all of them having the highest scores in raw damage during their training days, and were the first ones to rush into danger.   


Last but not least, Captain Leroy’s group was made up of only men, and was comprised of Raine, the ginger Mervin, the fire mage Michael and the youngest of the group, who was the one named Terry (when Kiran put face with name together, she understood the fuss about trying to get him with Darwin). They were the support group, the back line; made up of ranged attackers and most of the healers to provide cover to all the rest.

 

It was barely dawn when they reached the capital. The fog of the early morning parted as their horses entered the stone roads and walked through the still silent streets, light pouring like rays through the houses and banners, the soft smell of fireplace and freshly baked bread filling the air.

Kiran loved it.

 

They made their way to what probably was the garrisons, entering the castle walls through what wasn’t the main gates and leaving the horses at the biggest stables she’d ever seen. Neither of the kids seemed surprised at the size, but more at the distinct architecture with icey patterns and the very much winter-themed castle standing tall in front of them.

 

—Your Highness. — _a couple of guards came to greet the Prince as the rest of the soldiers took their packages from the horses._

—Any news? — _Hríd calmly asked, looking from where he also was unloading._

—Your Highness, your elder sister and Queen Máni seem to have been investigating something as of recently, but it doesn’t appear to be anything to worry over. — _one of the guards stated._

—Aside from that, we have confirmed the preparations for the border to be ready. — _the other added._ — Where Múspell to decide to attack, we’d know.

—Thank you, I will see to my sister immediately. — _Hríd dismissed them, and the guards walked away with a nod._

 

Morgan and Kana came to stand behind Kiran’s legs as the soldiers formed up around them, the Prince turning to see them as if about to say something.

 

—You heard them. — _he simply said_.— Inform the others at the barracks, I want your reports by noon. You are all dismissed.

 

The soldiers all let out a collective “Yessir!” before walking away almost in the same direction, some stopping by for an instant to pat Kiran on the shoulder or ruffle either of the kid’s hair. 

 

—You three follow me. — _Hríd returned her attention to the matter at hands_.— Let us see if my sister or mother can help you out.

 

Kiran let out a soft hum of acknowledgement and followed after the Prince, Morgan and Kana sticking close behind her.

He lead them into what had to be the foyer of the castle, straight out of any medieval fantasy movie Kiran had seen, but impressive nonetheless. She stayed a respectful two meters behind him, her gaze wandering through the ceiling and the decorations in the walls and high windows. The guards saluted as they passed, and the Prince nodded in their direction without stopping in his tracks.

Kiran was slightly confused about the fact they’d let her have her bow and arrows around. Either they didn’t think her capable of doing any harm with it, or they were very much confident in their ability to stop her before she could even try.   
Not that she minded, but it was still a strange thought.

 

After some five minutes of walking through halls and doorways, they reached what seemed to be a more modest foyer (relatively) or even living room, where two ladies were sitting to the side around a coffee table. One appeared older than the other, probably around her late forties or early fifties, hair a long silvery white held back neatly by an ornamental golden headpiece. Judging by her clothes and the obvious resemblance, that woman had to be Queen Máni.

The other lady had pink hair neatly tucked in some sort of veil behind her head, two strands adorned with feathers and hairpins framing her soft face and falling down to her chest. Also judging by the resemblance and the fact that she looked no older than thirty, she had to be the eldest princess (whose name Kiran couldn’t honestly remember if she ever got).

 

They both turned to look at them with gentle motherly smiles when the sound of the door opening and closing caught their attention, clearly surprised to see Kiran and the kids standing by the entrance as the Prince approached the table.

 

—Mother. — _he spoke, soft, the tone of his voice catching Kiran completely off guard. He sounded so much calmer, relaxed, almost relieved; as if his overly serious and stern demeanor was something he brought up to deal with the soldiers_.— Sister.

 

He came to a halt in front of the Queen, who stood up from her chair and seemed to cup his face with her hands (Kiran wasn’t sure, she couldn’t see enough with the Prince’s back turned to her), a warm smile on her face.

 

—How did everything go? — _the Queen asked, returning her hands to rest neatly on top of each other close to her abdomen in a very regal manner._

—The preparations are ready and all villages had been given the warning. — _Hríd reported, some seriousness returning to his voice even as his tone remained much more mellow_.— There doesn’t seem to be any major problems, and all guards have been given their tasks.

—Wonderful, now we can only hope we never get to give the orders. — _the Queen sighed, her expression souring for a moment as her mind probably wandered to the scenario of a war breaking out._

—What about you? The guards told me you have been investigating something as of recent. — _Hríd spoke, the seriousness from before gone and replaced with exhaustion, a sigh almost escaping him._

—Hmm, well yes, that is true. — _the smile returning to the Queen’s face was audible_.— But I do believe that can wait. On the other hand… — _the mused, leaning to the side to see Kiran still standing by the door, Morgan and Kana behind her legs. Hríd turned as well, and the Princess’ attention also fell on her. The Queen, still leaning, looked up at him_.— You might have something to tell us?

—Well, yes… — _the Prince trailed off, stepping back from his mother a bit and looking at Kiran._ — Please come here, Miss Kiran.

 

Kiran nodded calmly and walked over to the table, the kids following suit. She came to a halt at a respectful distance from all three of them, doubting for a second as she wondered whether she should kneel, bow, or what.   
So she just curtsied, holding one side of the cotton cloth around her waist as if it were a dress. Once the small motion was done and after the soft shuffling from behind had ended (indicating the kids had opted to imitate her, though Morgan probably bowed a bit) she held her elbows and directed her attention to the Prince, expectantly.   
If the way he blinked back at her told anything, then he probably hadn’t been expecting that. He did not comment on it, however.

 

—This is Miss Kiran. — _Hríd introduced._ — And they are Morgan and Kana. — _he indicated the kids, his attention back to the Queen._ — They’re travelers, though they appear to not know our realm nor how they ended here.

—You don’t mean… — _the Princess spoke softly, surprised, alternating her gaze from her brother to Kiran_.— Miss Kiran, right? Would you mind terribly telling us your story? My brother here has a tendency to skip over the details.

 

Hríd huffed silently, but Kiran narrated the events of waking up on the snow nonetheless. Both ladies listened intently through it all, and exchanged glances after she was over, apparently pondering over it.

 

—The dates add up perfectly… — _the Queen mused, in the exact same pose as her daughter, thinking._

—The dates…? — _Kiran and Hríd both asked in unison, confused._

  
The Queen and the Princess gave them intense looks of intrigue and excitement, standing up and each capturing one hand before rushing out of the foyer, the kids grasping Kiran’s cotton cloth and running behind.   
Kiran was utterly dumbfounded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now that all soldiers have been named, the group reaches the capital! Yay!   
> I don't know if we were ever given a name for the queen of Nifl, so I just gave her one
> 
> Also I made that one chart I'd say I'd make? The one with all the soldiers?  
> If anyone is curious to check it out, here it is:  
> https://sillyfanboy.tumblr.com/image/180557568602


	8. The Royals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran and the kids finally meet the entire royal family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has some semblance of angst, but nothing too tragic I promise
> 
> Also all your coments give me life thank you so much y'all <3 <3

Kiran, the Prince and the kids were rushed out of the small living room and through a series of corridors until they reached some sort of shrine within the castle. Kiran took a second to let herself be dragged around and look up at the ceiling of that place: made almost entirely out of turquoise colored glass and snowflake-shaped skylights, the marble-like walls mixing with the colors of the light to almost look like pillars of ice crystals supporting the structure.

In the middle of the shrine was a crystal statue of a scaled dragon, its wings spread majestically and almost reaching from one wall to the other. There was a water fountain at the feet of the dragon and a small wall of marble to sit on.

 

—Mother and I were praying here some days ago. — _the Princess began, letting go of her brothers’ hand and coming to stand by the marble wall reaching up to her knees_.— There was a small tremor in the water, but nothing we could feel with our feet. Then, it started glowing.

—What? — _Hríd sounded shocked._

—The last time this water glowed was when the Great Hero was summoned in the past. — _the Queen continued, tapping the marble wall gently._ — The legends state it very clearly.

 

There was silence for a moment before the Prince turned to give Kiran a puzzled look, the other women’s attention also falling on her.   
Kiran took a step back.

 

—No way. — _she hurried to say, not liking where this was going._

—No, dear, calm down; you aren’t the Great Hero. — _the Queen was quick to clarify, and the Prince looked back at his mother. Kiran sighed in relief and mouthed a soft “thank you”._

—Why is she not? — _Kana asked, curious_.— We arrived in this place some days ago too.

—One of us could also be the Great Hero, for all we know. — _Morgan intervened, calming her down._

—None of you are. — _the Princess shook her head no, and the kids lifted their heads to look at her_.— The Great Hero can only be summoned using a divine relic called the Breidablik, which is currently under the care of a kingdom across the sea from Nifl, the Kingdom of Askr.

—But if we’re not the Great Hero… and they can only be summoned in another kingdom… — _Morgan began, confused_.— Why are we even here?

—That… we don’t know. — _the Queen gave them an apologetic look_.— The water glowing means the Great Hero has been summoned to our realm, and they alone have the power to bring here even more people from other worlds. 

—Meaning they somehow brought them here? — _the Prince crossed his arms over his chest._

—It’s the only explanation, brother. — _the Princess nodded._

—Wait… then how do we go back home? — _Kana suddenly asked, her tone scared._

 

The royals exchanged looks for a moment and Kiran patted the little girl’s hair.

 

—The Great Hero is also able to return whoever they summon back to their realms. — _the Queen spoke softly._ — For that, however, you would have to meet up with them.

—Let’s go find the Great Hero, Kiran! — _Kana tugged on her cotton cloth, desperate, and Kiran felt her heartstrings being pulled along._

—We are truly sorry, but you cannot. — _the Princess attempted to reason, her voice gentle and filled with guilt and worry._ — If the Great Hero has been summoned that can only mean Askr is in dire trouble. They probably have a war going on. And we… — _she trailed off, looking to the side_.— For as much as I wish I was wrong, we might have a war breaking out as well. Nifl has never been a warring country, and we would need every single soldier we have to put up a resistance. We cannot afford to escort you to Askr.

 

Kana stopped pulling on Kiran’s cloth and grasped the hem of her skirt-like… thing. Her face scrunched up and, after failing to hold back a sniffle, ran away from the shrine.

 

—Kana! — _Morgan called after her, quick to follow in her steps._

 

Kiran was about to dart after the kids but stopped herself, remembering she was standing in a room alone with three royals. She turned to face them with an apologetic look, curtsied, and then rushed out of the shrine.

 

After five whole minutes of wandering through the halls, and certainly by some divine intervention, Kiran found Kana and Morgan in a small beautiful inner garden filled with lavender and rose bushes. The little girl was standing in front of Morgan, her head lowered as she cried her heart out and covered her eyes with the back of her hands.   
The boy just stood there, not knowing what to do.

 

Kiran walked up to them and Morgan gave her a worried look, lips pursed in a thin line. She got down on one knee to be at better level with the girl.

 

—Kana?

—I wanna go home… I wanna go home- I wanna see mommy, I wanna see daddy, I- — _Kana sucked in a hitched breath, whimpering_.— I don’t want war, I’m scared- I want my m-mommy and daddy…

—I want to go home too! — _Morgan intervened, his voice cracking halfway. Kiran turned to find him speaking to Kana instead of her._ — I want to see my mom and dad too, but we can’t, Kana! 

—Why not?! — _the little girl shouted back._

—Because it’s dangerous! — _Morgan insisted, his hands balled into fists at his sides. Kiran felt her heart be squeezed_.— W-We’ll wait for the war to pass so we can find the G-Great Hero and go back home, so stop crying!

—But w-what if it never passes?! — _Kana spat_.— And you’re crying too, you big weenie!

—I’m not!

—You are!

—I said I’m not!

—Yes you are!

 

Kiran pulled both kids into a hug, cutting their argument short. She couldn’t stand to hear them banter over this.

 

—Listen to me. — _she spoke softly, in her most gentle voice_.— I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help you two get back home, but-

—It wasn’t your fault, Kiran! — _Kana protested, grasping her shirt._

—Yeah, you did a lot by accompanying us! — _Morgan added._

—But. — _Kiran resumed where she’d been cut off._ — You need to be patient. I will get you to the Great Hero, one way or another, even if we have to wait for a war to pass. I promised back then and I promise to you two again: I will find a way to get you two back home. — _she paused, letting the kids calm down for a second._ — It’s okay to cry, alright?

—W-What? — _Kana sobbed, confused._

—It’s alright to cry. — _Kiran corrected, rubbing her hands on their little backs in a comforting manner._ — Crying means you can feel. And so long as you can feel, you’ll be fine.

 

The kids’ breath hitched for a moment before they both cried their hearts out into her scarf. She remained silent, rubbing small circles on their backs with her thumbs and waiting for their crying and sobbing to calm down.

They stayed in the inner garden for some three minutes. The kids had relaxed by the time they heard voices coming from the corridors.

 

—I told you I heard someone over here… — _it was the voice of a young girl._

—Are you sure? — _this one sounded like a young lady._ — I think we should go greet brother, he arrived some minutes ago.

—He can wait, this might be- — _the voice cut off the moment two people peeked over the door to the inner garden._

 

As Kiran had guessed, they were a young girl and a lady around her age, both dressed in what she supposed were royal garments.   
Where those two also Princesses?

 

—Uh, who are you? — _the youngest spoke, looking confused, and Kiran stood up. The kids hid behind her legs._

 

Before Kiran got the chance to say anything, more steps approached the inner garden.   
The oldest Princess stepped through the door, relieved.

 

—Here you are. — _she sighed, looking at Kiran and the kids before turning to the other two_.— I apologise for the confusion.

—No need. — _the lady shook her head softly_.— Who are they?

—Miss Kiran, Morgan and Kana. — _the oldest Princess smiled._ — They arrived with Hríd. Let us go find him to clear this up. — _she turned to Kiran_.— Follow me.

 

The eldest Princess guided them through the castle, giving the other two a brief rundown of the entire ordeal on the way. Kiran learned their names were Gunnthrá, Fjorm and Ylgr, who was the youngest.

After walking for a while, they arrived back at the small living room, where the Prince and the Queen were at.

 

—Brother! — _Fjorm and Ylgr exclaimed in unison, running up to the Prince, who smiled softly at them._

 

Kiran watched the siblings for a moment before Morgan tugged on her cotton cloth, directing her attention to the Queen beckoning her to approach.   
She did so, coming to stand a meter from her and curtsying.   
The Queen chuckled at that.

 

—You don’t have to keep doing that, dear. — _she smiled gently._

—Sorry. — _Kiran was surprised for a second_.— It’s just… my reaction to…

—You didn’t do that when we met, though. — _the Prince spoke as she trailed off, his voice much more relaxed. She thought it was good._

—Kana was on my shoulders, couldn’t have done much.

—Ah, right.

—Well, then, Miss Kiran-

—You don’t- There’s no need to call me that. — _Kiran intervened, lazily raising a hand in a stop sign, mentally punching herself for interrupting the Queen._ — Just Kiran is fine, really.

—Alright. Kiran, do you remember what happened before you awoke in the snow? — _the Queen asked._

 

There was a sepulchral silence in the scene for a moment, as if everyone’s attention was suddenly on their conversation.   
The kids both looked up at her with curious glances, and Kiran breathed in.

 

—I got shot. — _she stated._ — And I thought I died, but the, uh… — _one of her hands tapped one side of her chest, searching for the words._ — The wound, that is–the wound’s scar; it’s still present.

 

Silence ruled once again.   
Well, that was awkward.

Kiran tried to look at the walls for distraction as everyone stared at her with shell-shocked expressions.

 

—May I see it? — _the Queen suddenly inquired._

 

Kiran was startled by that question. It wasn’t as if she could deny the Queen a request, but…   
She shot Morgan and (especially) the Prince embarrassed glances. They seemed confused about it until she started lifting up her shirt, when they both scrambled to look everywhere but at her.   
In the end, they hurried to stand by the door, facing the wood as if they’d been sent to detention or something.

 

She lifted her shirt until it was rolled up over her bra and pulled up the part where the scar was a bit more, stepping closer to the Queen so she could see the small meteorite-like crater over one of her breasts, right where her heart was.   
The three Princesses and Kana approached to get a better look, and they all looked intently at the scar.

As the seconds went by, Kiran started getting a little self-conscious about having her shirt pulled over her bra in the middle of a living room in a castle.

 

—What… What kind of arrowhead can cause a scar like this one…? — _Fjorm asked, awestruck._

 

Kiran rearranged her shirt to cover her propperly and Ylgr brought the two boys back into the conversation.

 

—A special kind of weapon in my realm that doesn’t exist here, Highness. It wasn’t an arrow. — _Kiran explained, regaining her bearings._

—But I thought you said shot? — _Gunnthrá questioned, hugging her elbows, worried for whatever reason_.

—That weapon uses the same expression as bows. — _she clarified._ — Just like how you can get shot with a bow, you can get shot with one of… those.

—What did you do in your realm? — _Ylgr asked._

—If you mean to get shot; have bad luck, I guess. — _Kiran shrugged._ — Things like that tend to happen.

—No, I meant as a job or something. — _the young Princess giggled, and the other fought back the wave of embarrassment that dawned on her._

—Oh. — _Kiran managed to get out, collecting herself_.— Well, I was a student, I had no job.

—A student? — _Gunnthrá and the Queen asked at the same time, puzzled. The Queen continued_.— At your age?

 

Kiran gave her a dumbfounded look for a moment before realizing that maybe schools in that era lasted only until high school, even less.

 

—Ah, no, not that type of student. — _she corrected. What was the equivalent, in that case?_ — I guess the equivalent here would be that I was… a scholar, or something along those lines.

—You were a scholar? — _Ylgr and Fjorm were surprised, and the older one added._ — What did you study?

—Uh… Art…? — _Kiran stated, though it came out more as a question._

—No way! You’re an artist? — _this time it was Kana_.— But you don’t look like an artist!

—What’s that supposed to-

—Were you married? — _Ylgr bounced up to her like another child_.

—I- no- what?

—Were you in the army, then? — _Gunnthrá poked her quiver._ — You do have a bow…

—N-No, I wasn’t-

—How old are you? — _Ylgr again_.

—Twenty-one, but-

—Wait, if you’re an artist does that mean you can draw? — _now Kana._

—Or maybe you can sing? That’s also considered an art isn’t it? — _this time Fjorm._

—Y-Yes, yes and yes, but could you-

—Ah! That explains why you could tell us all those stories while singing! — _Kana realized, beaming. Well, at least it was nice to see her back in a good mood._

—But if you’re not in the army, then who taught you marksmanship? — _Morgan asked, confused._

—That’s-

—Alright, alright! — _the Queen stood up from her chair, laughing softly._ — That’s enough, this is starting to look like an interrogation.

 

Kiran sighed, thankful.

 

—Now, let us have some breakfast. — _the Queen clasped her hands together, smiling motherly at Kiran and the kids_.— Please, join us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't tell me the sisters don't get nosy when they get the oportunity and nobody can stop them (even more whan Kana is pushing everything forward). Also the Queen enjoys seeing shit like that happen around the place.  
> Meanwhile, through the interrogation Hríd was standing to the side pondering again if he's the only one in the family with a sense of propriety.
> 
> Kiran is Tired (tm).


	9. At the Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran and the kids spend almost a full day at the castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your coments, they warm my cold dead heart!! <3 <3  
> Also I'm sort of sorry for taking so long to update, I planned on doing it earlier when Book 3 dropped on us ('cause of Worlds), but I was hella sick so decided to put this off and actually manage to get out of bed before doing stuff.  
> So yeah, hope you enjoy this chapter!! Have Kiran bonding with the kids!

Breakfast with the Royals was quiet and calm. Morgan and Kana ate more than Kiran had seen them eat since she knew them, but that wasn’t saying much. There was small chatter between the sisters, but for the most part there was silence on the table interrupted only by the soft clinking of the cutlery.

 

Kiran was surprised to know the Queen wanted them to stay at the castle. Apparently, her and Princess Gunnthrá were more than interested in hearing about her realm and thought it more practical for her and the kids to stay over in the guest rooms. 

Princess Fjorm toured them around the place for some twenty minutes before leading them to their chambers. Kiran’s was a simple room with a bed bigger than twin-size, a desk by a window and a bathroom. It was connected via two doors to Kana’s and Morgan’s chambers at each side, which were smaller rooms with smaller beds and smaller bathrooms.   
Smaller relatively.

 

The kids were allowed to play on the inner gardens so long as they stayed clean of the rose bushes and patches of flowers, and Kiran spent the rest of the day sitting on a bench to keep an eye on the two of them while doodling some things on her small notebook.

It was barely five in the evening when the sun went out and the moon appeared over their heads. They were ushered inside the castle by one of the maids for dinner, who also told them to stay indoors afterwards due to the cold.

 

—So, how was your day? — _the Queen asked over dinner, a motherly smile on her face as she spoke to the kids and Kiran._

—I didn’t know there were butterflies this huge! — _Kana exclaimed exited, indicating the size with her hands._ — It was orange and black, I’ve never seen one with those colors! 

—Must’ve been a monarch. — _Kiran commented at her side, taking a bite of the food. It was mouthwatering._

—No, I’m pretty sure it was a butterfly. — _Kana shook her head no, and soft suppressed giggles from the princesses and the Queen were heard on the table._

—It was. — _Kiran couldn’t help the chuckle that left her. Even Morgan was amused_.— Orange and black butterflies with tiger-like patterns on their wings? — _she asked, and the little girl nodded_.— Those are called monarch butterflies. 

 

Kana let out a soft “oh” of embarrassment and pouted at the small laugh that escaped Ylgr.

 

—But, you know, Kana? — _Kiran spoke again, getting the little girl out of her pouting face._ — There are even bigger species of butterfly. At least in my realm.

—What? Really? — _Kana looked up at her, fascinated._ — How big?

—The biggest is about this size. — _Kiran signaled with her hands an empty space of air of around twenty five centimeters. Kana made an audible gasp and the rest of the table seemed surprised as well. Morgan at her other side was shocked_.— It’s called the Queen Alexandra’s birdwing, and the biggest ones are brown colored with lighter spots on the wings.

—No way! That’s too big for a bug! — _Kana giggled, returning to her food._

—Oh, you’d be surprised. — _Kiran mumbled with a small sigh._

 

After dinner they retired to their respective chambers. Kiran bid goodnight to the kids and sat on the edge of her bed in silence for a solid minute.   
It was barely six, there was no way she was going to fall asleep anytime soon.

But if the sun went down so early then that meant their active day started early as well? At what time would me maids come knocking at her door for breakfast?   
She needed to sleep.

 

That said, however, she spent the next two hours scrolling through her apps on her phone.

She had changed into a simple white nightgown she’d found in the wardrobe that reached down to her ankles and was the comfiest thing she’d ever worn. Her things were either stored in said wardrobe or laying on the desk, in the case of her notebook and pen.

 

It was at around eight thirty when she heard a soft knock on the door leading to Kana’s room.

 

—Yes? — _she asked softly, opening the door._

 

Kana stood there, in a pastel blue nightgown that draped slightly over the floor by her bare feet. Her small hands clenched the cloth as her face was scrunched up with tears trailing down her cheeks.

 

—What’s the matter? — _Kiran cooed, kneeling down to her level._

—I-I had a bad dream… — _the little girl sniffed._

—Oh no! — _Kiran lamented, petting her head softly._ — Do you want to talk about it?

—No… — _Kana hiccuped, rubbing her eyes to dry the tears._

—Well, then. — _Kiran stopped the girl’s hands and carefully dried her cheeks with her sleeve. Rubbing her eyes like that would only make things worse_.— But know that... whatever happened in your bad dream I won’t let it happen here, alright?

 

Kana nodded and slowly steadied her breathing, Kiran continuing to arrange her messy locks of hair. It wasn’t long before a knock on the opposite door was heard, the one leading to Morgan’s chambers.

 

—Come in. — _Kiran called out in a hushed tone meant only for them three._

 

The door opened and closed, and Kiran turned her head a bit to find the boy in his sleeping clothes, also on the verge of tears.   
Oh dear.

 

—Nightmare? — _Kiran gave him a meek smile, extending her arm towards him._

 

The boy nodded and walked to them, hiding his face in the crook of Kiran’s neck as she patted the back of his head.   
It had to be the idea of a war. Before then, it must’ve seemed to them like a distant thing, something they wouldn’t have to see because they would return home when they reached the capital and the eldest Princess helped them.   
But now that they knew they’d had to wait for it to pass before even attempting to  _ contact _ the person who could help them…   
No wonder they’d get nightmares.

 

—I won’t let anything bad happen to the two of you, alright? You’re safe with me. — _she looked into their eyes. They seemed to have calmed down a little._ — I can’t promise you it won’t be scary, but I know you’re strong. We’ll get through this.

—Y-Yeah! — _Kana nodded, determined, and a tiny smile appeared in Morgan’s face._

—That’s the spirit. — _Kiran smiled her warmest smile, then got an idea._ — Come with me, I’ll get you something to help you sleep better.

 

Not bothering to fit her boots on, she lead the curious kids out of her chambers and through the hallways of the castle. She had taken it upon herself to memorize most of the layout, so she wasn’t worried about getting lost.   
She also doubted anyone would get angry if she used the kitchen for a bit.

 

Surprisingly enough, they didn’t bump into any guards on the way there. The pitter patter of Kana’s bare feet along with the soft steps of her and Morgan’s socks echoed through the dark corridors as they walked through the palace.   
It was oddly calming, to say the least.

 

They reached the kitchen, Kiran lighting up an oil lantern to see better, and approached the pantry. Kana held Morgan’s hand and the two kids watched Kiran work in silence.

She set up a kettle and fetched some tea leaves and milk, discovering they had some sort of fridge-equivalent that kept the food cool with the help of two pillars of seemingly unmelting ice. Once the water was boiling, she prepared the tea while humming a soft tune, barely audible to her and the kids, warming the milk in another pot to the side with a small stick of cinnamon. She poured the tea into three cups and added the milk and a spoonful of honey in each one, stirring until it was mixed together.

 

—Here. — _she handed the kids their respective cups, setting the lantern on the counter and leaning on it as they blew air into the liquid to make it drinkable._

 

Kiran watched the kids try the drink in silence, an amused smile appearing on her face at the expressions on their little faces.   
Of course they’d like it. No child can resist the deliciousness of liquid comfort.

 

—Oh.

 

All three of them turned to the new voice appearing on the kitchen, finding Ylgr peeking in from the doorstep. The youngest Princess seemed between relieved, disappointed, and confused; though the second vanished almost instantly.

Kiran noticed her quickly sheathing two throwing knives on the loosely fit belt around the waist of her nightgown. Had she thought they were intruders? The quickly tied boots and belt indicated that.   
Which meant Ylgr had been ready to deal with enemies if that were the case.   
Kiran was surprised.

 

—I’m sorry, Princess; did we wake you up? — _Kiran asked, not bothering to move from her spot. Morgan and Kana continued to sip their drinks close to her._

—Don’t worry about it. — _Ylgr sighed_.— I thought… nevermind. What are you even doing here?

—Having a little drink. — _Kiran simply said, barely noticing the quick glances the two kids shot her to not tell the Princess about the nightmares. They immediately calmed down._ — Do you want some? I call it Fairy Tea.

 

Ylgr quirked a brow, but stepped into the kitchen proper nonetheless. Kiran handed the Princess the cup she was holding, not having drank from it, and proceeded to pour herself a new one.

The Princess took a tentative sip from the cup, and instantly shot Kiran a surprised look.

 

—What is this? — _she asked, intrigued, holding the cup with both hands to feel the warmth emanating from it._

—It’s Fairy Tea. — _Kiran winked playfully at the Princess, perfectly aware of the fact she’d been asking what ingredients it had but wanting to keep her recipe a secret for now._

 

Ylgr’s brow furrowed for a second, though it disappeared once she continued drinking from the cup.

 

They stayed in a comfortable silence for some ten minutes, sipping the liquid comfort from their cups in the middle of the almost dark kitchen of the castle.   
If someone had told Kiran a month ago she’d be in that situation one day, she’d have laughed at their faces.

  
  


The following morning came around and, as she’d somewhat expected, they got woken up at around five and were sitting at breakfast sometime before six. 

 

If Ylgr had mentioned anything about the previous night to anyone, they didn’t bring up the topic. Breakfast was spent in a calm discussion between the Queen, prince Hríd and princess Fjorm about plans in case of a war. It was clear princess Gunnthrá would’ve loved to tell them not to talk about that over the table, but understood it was necessary and conflict with Múspell was more than probable.   
Ylgr didn’t seem to mind it at all, and Morgan and Kana did their best at pretending their case was the same.

 

After breakfast, Kiran accompanied the kids to the inner gardens for some more flower sighting and playtime. Kana managed to drag a couple of maids and guards to play hide and seek with them, but once noon came around Kiran was called back inside the castle. The Queen and princess Gunnthrá wanted to know more about her realm, and she was surprised to find them at the small backyard Kana had ran when they first arrived, only with a tea table and some chairs set up for the conversation.

 

—Tell us about your realm, Kiran. — _the Queen smiled, excited, as she sat down at one of the chairs._ — Is it too different from this one?

 

Kiran couldn’t fight back the chuckle that escaped her at the Queen’s enthusiasm and took a seat.

The rest of the day was spent talking with the two royal women about some history of Kiran’s realm. They both seemed fascinated by the concept of a realm without magic, and how was life lived and wars fought in its absence. Of course, Kiran decided to speak in general terms and spare them the details, no need to know how horrible humanity could get in her realm.   
At least not yet.

 

Dinner came around at the same time as last night and Kiran had just started to think she could get used to staying there in that strange yet wonderful tranquility when the Prince entered the dining room with a troubled expression and signs of having been running around the castle.

 

—Múspell has crossed the border.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh, cliff hanger  
> Is it really cliff hanger when you partially know what's going to happen, tho?  
> idk
> 
> You can't tell me Ylgr isn't the boldest out of the Nifl siblings.


	10. Five Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran and company tell stories and watch the capital evacuate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if you could consider this chapter filler, but whatever. There has to be a prelude to Múspell's invasion, so this is it
> 
> Is it necessary to warn ppl for Undertale spoilers by this point?  
> Anyway, yeah, that, I guess.
> 
> Enjoy~

The kids barely slept that night, and Kiran awoke half sitting on her bed with her back against the pillows, Kana curled up on her lap and Morgan leaning on her other side.

 

The breakfast that morning was tense, and both Prince Hríd and Princess Fjorm ate up in a flash and left just as quickly, excusing themselves with hurry. The Queen and the other two princesses were too busy attending meetings and checking on the townsfolk, so the kids and her were left alone in the castle.

 

However, she couldn’t stand being there. Morgan and Kana were both way too scared to play, and nothing she brought up seemed enough to distract them.

And as she looked at them in the garden staring emptily into the flowers, she couldn’t help but ask herself: what were the rest of the children doing? The kids in the plaza, in their homes?   
Weren’t they all just as terrified?

 

She’d learned from what Prince Hríd had told them last night that the citizens would be departing in six days to seek refuge in the hidden villages of manaketes to the south, where they would be safe under the protection of the mountains. That’s where everyone else at the peripheral villages had been told to head to in case of an invasion, and that was what the Queen and the other two princesses were having meetings about.

Meaning in a week the capital would be empty, save for the guards and the knights waiting for the enemy to arrive.

 

Kiran sighed.   
She had to do something, else the tense atmosphere would get to her as well.

 

—You two up for some storytime? — _she asked._

 

Both kids perked up at that, even if slightly.    
Good.

 

—A story? — _Morgan turned in his seat, looking up at her._

—Yeah. — _she nodded, looking around._

 

It was sometime around four in the afternoon, and they had five days before the evacuation.   
This could work.

 

—Let’s go to the plaza, shall we? — _Kiran stretched her arms up._ — See if more kids want to join and listen in. The more, the merrier.

 

Morgan and Kana exchanged looks of curiosity, but got up regardless and followed after her.

If she was going to help the kids ease their minds out of the conflict, if only for a couple of hours, then she might as well go the extra mile and give them some hope to hang on until everything passed.   
Five days. She could do it.

 

They walked through the hallways of the castle and to the outer gate, passing by the guards, who eyed them curiously. Morgan and Kana trailed behind Kiran, their hands holding onto her cotton cloth as their eyes examined their surroundings.

A change of setting had also been a good idea.

 

At the plaza were a group of five children playing with some sticks and rocks, either sitting or kneeling down on the floor near the fountain. They were around the age of Morgan, plus a little boy who was no older than five. Three women were sitting by one of the benches, chatting between themselves with frowns of worry on their faces

Kiran sat down at the fountain and Kana took a seat on the floor in front of her, Morgan imitating her after a moment of kicking some leaves out of the way.

 

—What tale are you going to tell us? — _Kana asked, curious, and Kiran gave her a tiny smile._

 

She pondered over her choice of story before deciding that yes, for everything that surrounded it in the internet after it came out, nobody could deny what it made them feel or the overall impact it had on everyone that witnessed it. Plus nobody there would ever know about the fandom, so she wasn’t risking anything.

It was time to tell the kids Undertale.   
The True Pacifist run, of course; she wasn’t a horrible human being.

 

—Let’s see, it’s a story about humans and monsters. — _she got comfortable on her seat by the fountain._

—Monsters? — _Morgan asked_.— Aren’t monsters bad?

—That depends on the tale. — _Kiran nodded softly_.— Some monsters are simply another species living along with us.

—But they can be huge! And scary! — _Kana indicated with her arms, tracing a big arch. Kiran chuckled._

—In the realm where I come from, manaketes do not exist. — _she stated, watching with amusement the look of disbelief that the little girl gave her._ — Dragons are considered monsters where I come from.

—They’re not! — _Kana insisted_.— Dragons are just… different…

 

Kiran watched on as the little girl trailed off, realizing the whole point of it.   
Just because something was different didn’t mean it was bad.

 

—Oh! — _Kana giggled at the realization, and Morgan chuckled._

 

The boy opened his mouth to speak, but closed it upon noticing something behind Kiran. She then turned to see what it was, only to find Princess Gunnthrá and Princess Ylgr walking towards them.   
The women by the benches bowed slightly in their seats, but Gunnthrá smiled sweetly and made a sign with her hand to stop them.

 

—Oooh, what are you three doing out here? — _Ylgr asked, bouncing up to them._

—Kiran is going to tell us a story about humans and good monsters! — _Kana exclaimed, which attracted the attention of the other kids in the plaza._

—Is that so? — _Gunnthrá asked with a warm smile, even if the quizzical look she shot Kiran was present in her eyes. The other just nodded solemnly, hoping she’d understand. She seemed to_.— I did hear from my brother you told them stories during your trip here.

—Yes, well, we were about to start. — _Kiran chuckled, rather nervous. Why had the Prince told her that? She thought he hadn’t been paying much attention to her stories!_

—Are you? — _Ylgr seemed excited, turning to Gunnthrá_.— I want to stay and listen!

 

The eldest Princess chuckled and walked to sit over the nearest bench, Ylgr taking a spot next to Kana. Not minding the other five kids inching closer with curiosity, Kiran cleared her throat for effect and began her narration.

 

—Long ago, two races ruled over the land: humans and monsters. — _Kiran began, exaggerating her motions since she had an audience of eight year-olds. She thought it better to switch out “Earth” in favor of plain “land”_.— One day, war broke out between the two races. — _there was a chorus of worried murmur among the kids._ — After a long battle, however, the humans were victorious. — _Kiran quickly stated, and they all seemed to relax._ — They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell… It has been many, many years. Legend says those who climb Mt. Ebott never return, for underneath it lay the monsters, waiting to break free… This, my dear listeners, is the story of a human child who fell down into the Underground. — _she paused for dramatic effect. The five other kids had scooted closed and now sat behind the front row of three, the women on the other bench looking on, amused_.— I will now ask you to please choose a name for the fallen child.

—Wait, what? — _Ylgr was confused, but then a spark of interest lit up in her eyes._ — We get to name the protagonist?

—You get to name the human child who fell down, yes. — _Kiran chuckled, fighting back her laugh. Oh, this was going to be interesting._

—Let’s name it Kana! — _Kana beamed, and Morgan laughed along with Gunnthrá._

—No way! Then I also suggest my name as an alternative! — _Ylgr almost got up on her knees._

—How about we come up with a name? — _Morgan steadied his laugh, being the ever present voice of reason among the kids._

 

The general consensus turned out to be, after the other five kids joined the discussion (at the beginning shyly), to name the fallen human Chris.   
Kiran approved with a dramatic nod and a smile.

 

They spent about two hours in the plaza and, as Kiran had planned, managed to get up to the human child leaving the Ruins, what with all the questions and interruptions and extra details she added to make it engaging as a spoken tale. If her plan worked, they’d get through one area per day, making it until the last day before they had to evacuate.

 

Throughout the telling, the audience of eight kids grew to encompass ten more youngsters, a couple of teenagers, and a good chunk of parents. The kids cheered on and asked questions almost constantly, Kiran having to pause the narration to give explanations or expand on certain topics (like what was a donut, or how the telepathy artifact, cough, the cellphone, worked).

A group of some three soldiers had to stop in their rounds to provide security for the impromptu gathering, although they seemed to be very much enjoying themselves. Kiran even recognized Garret among them.

 

—Will you kill out of frustration? — _Kiran put on her scary Flowey face, and the kids flinched in place as the adults in the back chuckled. They had just defeated Toriel in battle and were about to end the Ruins chapter._ — Or will you give up entirely on this world… and let ME inherit the power to control it?

—No! — _the kids exclaimed in unison, Kana almost jumping to her feet, Ylgr just as angry. Kiran had to hold back her laugh to stay in-character._

—Silence, humans! — _Kiran added to the dialogue, stretching her Flowey voice to silence the kids, who went all into shocked silence. This was the first time she’d used the flower to directly speak to the audience, and she was living for their reactions. Even the parents were silent._ — I am the prince of this world’s future. Don’t worry, my little monarch, — _she added a little laugh, dropping the level of her voice down to a menacing one_.— my plan isn’t regicide. This is SO much more interesting. 

 

Kiran then laughed the Flowey Laugh, throwing her head back for effect, and the kids let out yelps and squirmed in their places, the adults chuckling.

She steadied her laugh and made the sign with her hands indicating she was switching to narrator.

 

—The flower then sunk into the earth, just as it’d done when the human first encountered it. — _she continued, and everyone visibly relaxed_.— Unflinching, the child stepped over the grass and towards the door in front of them, never turning to look back. They placed their small hands on the door and pushed forward, stepping through it and hearing it close behind them, forever.

—Oh no! Are we never going to see Ms. Toriel again? — _one of the girls in the back lamented._

—I hope you understand her. It would be too painful for her to see the child return after the confrontation. — _Kiran nodded solemnly._

—But what now? — _one of the boys asked._ — She said the rest of the Underground is dangerous! Is the human going to be alright?

—What about that Asgore person she mentioned? — _Morgan chided in_.— Is he going to find Chris?

—That, my listeners… — _Kiran chuckled._ — We’ll find out tomorrow.

 

There was a chorus of whines and pouting from the audience, and all adults in the scene exploded into laughter, Kiran herself included.

 

—Why?! — _Ylgr whined._

—Why? Princess, it’s late, there’s barely any daylight left! — _Kiran steadied her breathing_.— You all have to head home and have dinner. 

—Will we hear the rest tomorrow? Promise? — _one of the girls rose to her knees._

—We will continue with the story tomorrow, yes. I promise. — _Kiran chuckled softly._ — I’ll see you all here at the same time as today.

 

And so she did.

Word reached all throughout the capital of the storyteller in the plaza, and the audience of both kids and youngsters (with some guards and parents sprinkled in) nearly quadrupled by the second day.

For the next five days before the evacuation, Kiran sat by the fountain of the plaza two hours or so to continue telling the story. The first day had been the Ruins chapter, so the second day they traversed Snowdin, the third Waterfall, and so on. She brought her sketchbook along to draw some characters and locations so the kids would have an easier time picturing everything in their minds.

At the fourth day, the Queen asked about it during dinner.

 

—So, did the human beat Undyne? — _she inquired, interested, and Kiran had to hold back a laugh. She’d decided to treat Undyne’s fight as the beginning of Hotland, mostly because they ran out of time during the third day. The cliffhanger at the end of Waterfall had left all the kids as a whining mess, and it had been hilarious. She’d never seen an audience as rapt as the one she’d found that afternoon at the plaza._

—Your Majesty, I didn’t know you were following the story. — _Kiran chuckled._

—Well, sweet Ylgr here puts me up to date with it every night. — _the Queen revealed, and Kiran was surprised. Did she, now?_ — Thank you.

—Uh- what for? — _she was caught off guard._

—We were wondering last night… what would the capital look like in these times of looming war and with the upcoming evacuation and arrangements without you entertaining all the children in the afternoons. — _Gunnthrá explained, expression melancholic yet bearing a warm smile regardless_.— We reached the conclusion it wouldn’t be a pretty sight. So, thank you.

 

Kiran hadn’t known how to respond to that.

On the fifth day, almost everyone cried at the plaza. Funnily enough, the oldest group were the ones who cried the most, since the kids were more focused on cheering and yelling out their hype and enthusiasm. It was endearing to see everyone converted into their inner child, and the crowd was so big Kiran had to stand up on her seat on the fountain, constantly checking behind her to make sure she wasn’t going to fall into the water.

 

—Running through the flames, the child then reached forward and hugged the tallest Lost Soul, grasping the cape with their tiny fingers. — _Kiran narrated, making gestures with her hands and almost pacing around the rim of the fountain. The crowd was at the edge of their seats._ — Suddenly, they both seemed to snap! 

 

The audience erupted into a flurry of cheers, and she could spot most of the soldiers who’d been on the trip to the capital with her among them.

 

—All the child’s friends had been saved! They could feel their souls resonating within them! — _she exclaimed._ — But… — _the crowd held their breaths_.— There was something else. Someone else was there. There was… another soul inside the looming monster in front of the human. — _she paused for added effect_.— Asriel was still there.

—No! We have to save him! — _someone yelled, probably one of the kids._

—Nobody can be left behind!! — _another one cheered on._

—Exactly! — _Kiran applauded_.— With those thoughts filling them with determination, the human child called out for his name! And then… — _she calmed down a little._ — Then memories flooded their mind. Memories of someone who’d been there for a long time. Memories of a child falling down onto a bed of golden flowers. — _another pause, mostly so she could think through how to narrate the rest._ — Chris’ memories.

 

There was a strange silence in the crowd once those words left her mouth. For as much as all the kids had been referring to the human as Chris, it was actually the first time she did as the narrator.   
And they all suddenly realized that.

 

—A human child falls down. A monster child finds them. Helps them. Cares for them. They become… best friends. — _she spoke softly, and there was a chorus of gasps and intakes of breath_.— The memories end there. The child opens their eyes to find Asriel with a troubled expression, and lets them speak.

 

A soft murmur of worry spread in the audience, and she had to fight back a chuckle with all her might.

 

—Wh… What did you do…? — _she put on her Asriel voice, distraught_.— What is this feeling? What is happening to me?! — _she called out. There was a sepulchral silence in the plaza interrupted only by the muffled sniff here and there_.— No! No!! I don’t need ANYONE!

 

Kiran narrated the rest of the fight with as much emotion as she could put behind her words, suddenly very glad she decided to take acting classes that one time in highschool. 

She carried the crowd through their crying, faking her own shaky voice for that one scene with Asriel before the barrier is shattered. When they discovered the human child’s name is Frisk, even the kids had faces of realization as they put two and two together with the magic recordings (cough, tapes, cough) in the True Lab.

 

—Chris was the first human that fell down?! — _Ylgr exclaimed, shocked_.— But you told us we were naming the protagonist!

—I said you were naming the human child that fell down. — _Kiran commented with a smirk, and the Princess sputtered in an attempt to find her words_.— Now, let me wrap this up.

 

As she continued on with the finale, she took out her notebook and began sketching the final scene before the credits. The audience laughed wholeheartedly at the exchange between the main characters as they stand around in the dark room before the broken barrier, and sighed with content at all the things the rest of the monsters have to say as Frisk makes their way to the very first room of the story.   
Then everyone almost cried again to the conversation with Asriel. Then they laughed at the sunset scene, letting out “ooh”s and “ahh”s at Kiran’s drawing.   
And finally, they all cried in the end at the very last scene (which, to make things simpler and not have to explain what a photograph is, turned out to be the “I want to stay with you” ending).

 

The following morning, the dawn of the sixth day, Kiran, the kids, the guards and the royal family all stood at the gates of the capital to send off the evacuation.

 

—You lot are going? — _Kiran repeated, surprised, staring at Captain Caroline, then at Captain Leroy for answers._

—I thought we were going to stay and guard the city, too, but go figure. — _Jace chided in from behind._

—His Highness wants someone to go along with the evacuation and make sure they reach the villages safe and sound. — _Captain Caroline sighed._

—He decided to trust us with that task, so all twenty of us are going. — _Captain Leroy shrugged_.— I don’t care either way, but I had also hoped to stay and fight.

—Remind me again why you aren’t coming along? — _Captain Caroline asked, clearly having slept nothing the previous night._

—I’m not a citizen, Captain. — _Kiran shrugged._ — Besides, the Queen thinks I’ll be of help, for some reason.

—Huh. Alright, then, take care… I suppose. — _Captain Caroline waved goodbye and hopped onto her horse, suppressing a yawn_.— Move along, Leroy.

—Yessir. — _the other Captain chuckled, shooting Kiran a tired smile before walking off to his horse._

 

Morgan and Kana held onto her legs as they watched the crowd slowly disappear into the distance, waving goodbye to the families and kids who’d been present during the storytelling the days prior.

Something in the children and youngsters’ eyes told Kiran her plan had worked. She wasn’t exactly sure what was it, but… there was something in the way they waved back.   
Like they were headed somewhere they would persevere and survive, where they would resist so when the war was over they could return and rebuild the kingdom, start anew.   
Not somewhere they would go and hide, pray they die last.

Kiran had succeeded in giving them hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What better story to tell a bunch of terrified children than UT, amirite?  
> I mean, honestly, what tale would you narrate to a people if you could do nothing to save them but give them some hope?  
> I'm pretty sure there are a lot of alternatives, but I thought this one was fitting and one we would all recognize (unless you've been living under a rock for the last four years).
> 
> On another note, guess who's going to spend all their orbs when the new years banner drops??  
> I want Hríd for my flier emblem team, I wish you all good luck in your pulls <3
> 
> PS: I have these character builds for the main three if you want to see them~  
> https://sillyfanboy.tumblr.com/post/181531850522/kana-morgan-and-kiran-for-tptw-kirans-blessing


	11. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran and the kids prepare for the siege of the capital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyy this is an actual prelude chapter! Preps needed to be done to move the story forward and also set some plotpoints with the Queen for the future
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

If she was being completely honest, she had no clue why had the Queen decided it would be best if she stayed with them at the capital instead of evacuating like… anyone not from the army. And not only that, but the kids had stayed with her as well because of course they did, she’d basically become their guardian by that point. They were both too scared of the war to sleep on their own and were now crowding Kiran’s bed.

But regardless, why did the Queen think she’d be of any help? Truth be told, for as much as evidence of their hospitality assured her otherwise, Kiran couldn’t help but shake the nagging idea that they didn’t trust her yet.   
As in, they prefered her stay at the capital with all the soldiers instead of going with the refugees and risking snitching on them by telling Múspell their location.

 

Before she knew it, an entire, horrible, tensely silent _month_ had passed.

The reports from the continuously changing front lines came in at odd intervals, all detailing the massacre closing in on them and echoing one single thing above all else.   
King Surtr of Múspell was an unquenchable flame.

As the weeks went by, the soldiers in the nearest villages were called back to the capital to set it up as their last bastion of hope, their last line of defense. The Queen attempted for around three nights to convince the Princesses and Prince to leave the capital and take refugee in the southern villages, seeing as this was clearly not going anywhere but down. Gunnthrá was quick to refuse, stating that, as the heir to the throne, she had to be next to the Queen to protect the capital at all costs. Hríd and Fjorm both immediately brought up the trump-card fact that… they were technically part of the army and therefore couldn’t leave Her Majesty behind.   
And Ylgr dug her heels stubbornly and never backed down, so the Queen wasn’t able to convince anyone after all her attempts.

 

Her last resort, though, was what surprised Kiran the most.

 

—But if you all stay, who is going to escort Kiran and the kids to safety? —she pleaded, knowing it was a losing battle regardless of what she said.

 

At that, however, all royal children went silent and stared into the emptiness, trying to think of another alternative.   
Kiran spoke before any of them could come up with anything.

 

—Oh, so  now we’re free to evacuate? — _she raised a brow, crossing her arms over her chest._

 

An even more sepulchral silence settled on the scene as everyone in the dining room, even the few maids, stared at her. Those were not angry stares, or “how dare you speak like that to Her Majesty?!” stares.   
They were guilty looks.

 

Later that night, Fjorm and Ylgr had appeared by her chamber’s doors.

 

—Did something happen? — _Kiran asked, confused, letting the two Princesses in. Kana was absentmindedly bouncing on the bed with Morgan across from her, reading a book borrowed from the library. The three of them were already in their nightclothes._

—No, we merely came by to ask you to please not be angry at Mother. — _Fjorm looked down to the side._

—She told us she had her reasons to keep you in the capital, so we all just went with it, but… — _Ylgr continued, braver than her sister as she didn’t tear her gaze from Kiran’s_.— I know it was for a good reason! So please…

—Princesses, calm down. — _Kiran held her hands out in stop signs._ — I’m not mad at Her Majesty.

—But, during dinner… — _Fjorm gave her a puzzled yet hopeful look_.— You sounded irritated.

—During- — _Kiran stopped herself, remembering. Oh. She’d said that in a slightly mocking tone, too used to her friends around her retorting with a witty remark to remember that, if someone outside her culture heard her, it would more than probably sound as if she was angry._ — Ah, no, I apologise. That’s just a manner of speech in my realm, I didn’t mean to sound angry.

 

Kiran had gone to see the Queen that night.

 

—Ah, Kiran. — _the queen had been reading a book._ — Is something the matter?

—I came to apologise for what I said during dinner. — _Kiran simply said._ — I didn’t mean to sound angry, truly, I wasn’t. I was just confused as to why you’d keep us here only let us go at the last minute. So, forgive me.

—Oh, no. I should be the one asking for forgiveness here. — _Her Majesty closed the book and walked over to Kiran, a slightly guilty look in her eyes_.— While I did have reasons to prevent you from evacuating at the beginning, I’m afraid such reasons weren’t enough to risk your life like that.

—If you don’t mind me asking, — _Kiran shifted her weight from one leg to the other and held her elbows, intrigued._ — why, exactly, did you keep me here in the first place? I heard something about being of help, but I’ve done literally nothing since the evacuation. I’m not a trained soldier, I can’t assist you in fighting and I also can’t use magic nor heal your wounds. I’m not a strategist, I’m no tactician, I don’t have a revolutionary weapon nor a plan to turn the tides in your favour. — _a small pause_.— Then, why?

 

Much like Fjorm, the Queen looked down and to the side, refusing to meet her gaze.

 

—Your presence and the kids’ in the castle is a strong reminder of something oh so easy to forget for us. — _she began, slowly, softly, as if afraid to say it_.— We speak of protecting Nifl, but the truth is, we don’t protect these lands; we protect the people. Our people. — _a small chuckle left her._ — Having you here has grounded us five more than you can think. Kings and Emperors always talk about giving their lives up for their subjects, of dying for their kingdoms. But our role isn’t to die for Nifl, — _the Queen finally looked at her_.— it’s to live for it.

 

Kiran was silent.

 

—And that is something I fear we tend to forget, all safe in this castle while managing the soldiers to fight. We forget we cannot launch an all-out attack and die valiantly in the attempt, because who will look after the people when we’re gone? — _Her Majesty continued_.— You and the kids represent for us our reason to fight. You represent our people, those we must be careful for and live for. However, as things stand now… — _she averted her gaze again_.— As things get more dire by the day, I cannot say with certainty we will be able to fulfil our roles as we should. And despite all I’ve said, the only last resort is always trading our lives for our people’s. That’s why… — _the Queen looked at Kiran with a sad smile._ — I thought it would be best for you to… well, evacuate.

—I’m already here, so I’m not going anywhere. — _Kiran intervened with more conviction that she thought possible._

 

The Queen’s shell-shocked expression gave Kiran a moment to think through all of that.

This was a person who  _ knew _ her death was coming. Múspell would arrive, thwart their soldiers at the capital and slaughter her in the throne room. No, the Queen’s concern wasn’t placed on her own wellbeing, it was placed on her children’s. What would the four of them do once she was gone? It was the exact same question and the exact same problem concerning Nifl’s people.

This one was just inevitable. 

So if the Queen’s efforts to ground them with Kiran’s presence were going to be all for nothing once her time came, then the only thing Kiran could do was continue on with her wishes. It was easy to imagine it: Her Majesty would fall and all four siblings would forget their roles and try to throw themselves in one final, futile attempt at revenge.   
Meaning it was Kiran’s turn to make a move. 

 

—I’ll stay here. — _she spoke again._ — So that they will continue to live for this kingdom.

 

The Queen had cried tears of gratitude and sorrow that night.

 

After that, some three more days went by in an even tenser silence. Kiran spent that time thinking over what she’d spoken about with Her Majesty and what she was  _ actually _ going to do once Múspell came knocking on their doors. Trace a plan, if you will.

Considering the attack had happened without warning and for seemingly no reason, it was safe to assume Múspell had a thirst for conquest. Taking over Nifl wouldn’t be enough to satisfy them, meaning they would move on to another kingdom once they were done with them.

Which was enough leverage on its own right for one of the four siblings to book it to that one kingdom where the Great Hero was at (Askr, was it?) and ask for their help. If she recalled correctly, they had mentioned Askr being across the sea from Nifl. However, they wouldn’t have a ship, let alone sailors, to take them there.   
One of the siblings had to go on their own. Kiran took into account all she knew about each of them and reached the conclusion that either Fjorm or Gunnthrá were their best options. Gunnthrá being the best one, since she was the heir to the throne and therefore had better chances at striking deals with other kingdoms; could use magic that (from what she’d seen) was capable of freezing water, and had a steed of her own. A lone cavalier freezing the sea as it ran by had better chances at making it to Askr than the rest of them.

 

Meanwhile, the three other siblings plus Kiran and the kids would have to take refuge somewhere else. They couldn’t head for the southern villages where the rest of the townsfolk were at because, among the chaos from the battle at the capital, they would surely give away their position. Soldiers from Múspell would certainly try to follow them, which would bust the hideout of Nifl’s people.   
So they couldn’t do that.

 

This is exactly what she explained to the siblings the next morning over breakfast, as the Queen looked on with a sad expression yet made no attempt to stop her.

 

—I agree with everything in this plan except for Gunnthrá going on her own to Askr. — _Hríd intervened, dead-serious_.— If something does happen to Mother, Gunnthrá would be the next one in line to the throne. — _he explained, and Kiran blinked. That was true, which prompted Kiran to give Fjorm a serious look. If Gunnthrá wasn’t going, then she was the next best option_.— We can’t risk her going on her own across the sea in hopes of finding allies.

—Then I’ll go. — _Fjorm stood up, and Kiran wasn’t sure if she’d understood her intentions or was doing this out of her own accord_.— I’ll reach Askr one way or another and tell them our situation.

—There is no way to reach Askr but by sea, Fjorm! — _Gunnthrá pleaded, worried._ — You haven’t managed to freeze water with Leiptr yet, how are you going to make it there?

—I can create ice pillars, I’ll find a way! — _Fjorm insisted_.

—No. Kiran is right, I have better chances at making it there. — _Gunnthrá stood up as well._ — I will go.

—Sister! — _Hríd and Ylgr also rose from their seats in chorus._

—Listen, I think Prince Hríd has a point here-

 

Kiran was interrupted by a guard entering the chamber in a hurry, all gazes landing on him within a second.   
He almost seemed embarrassed to have interrupted whatever was going on for a moment, but got over it immediately.

 

—What happened? — _Hríd’s quick and stern voice broke the silence, bringing the man out of his momentary trance._

—The last sentries have returned, Sir! — _the guard informed, saluting._ — A small group is bringing them to the infirmary.

—To the infirmary?! — _the Prince stepped away from the table._

—Most of them are unconscious, Sir. — _the guard nodded._

—Give us a brief rundown. — _the Prince walked away after the man._ — Fjorm, with me.

—Yes, brother.

 

Once those three had left, Kiran scooped up the shell-shocked Morgan and Kana in one arm each and turned to leave.  
The pieces were starting to gather on the board.

 

—Your Majesty. — _she nodded to the Queen, who nodded back, understanding. It seemed she knew it was now her job to convince Gunnthrá not to go, since Hríd’s point had been something Kiran hadn’t considered_.— Until next time.

 

Leaving the dining room with the kids, she quickly jogged over to her chamber and closed the door behind her in a hurry. Feeling them start to tremble, she placed them back down on the floor and hugged them tightly.

Now for the hardest part.

 

—W-W-What is happening, K-Kiran? — _Kana asked, her voice shakier than ever, her small hands gripping her back._

—In a few hours, Múspell’s forces will be at the capital. — _she stated, and the kids sucked in a sharp breath. She’d overheard the last sentries being posted at that time’s march away from the city, so it was safe to say some two hours or so was all they had to prepare. She had to stay calm, for the kids’ sake_.— But I have a plan.

—Y-You do…? — _Morgan pulled back to look at her, wearing a terrified expression, yet his eyes had something akin to determination in them._ — W-Well, what is it?

 

Kiran stared at him in silence for a moment until Kana pulled back as well to see what was happening. Once she had their full attention, she began to explain the second stage of her plan.

Kana’s dragon form had wings, which was a huge advantage on their part. There was no way she was going to put them in the danger of escaping through the hellscape of the capital under siege, so the best course of action was to have them flee beforehand. Morgan would hop on atop Kana’s back and she would fly them both away, over the clouds. Múspell had something called wyvern riders, but Kiran was sure they would be too busy attacking the capital to go search the skies for two children, specially if they never knew those two were up there.   
Kiran would make sure to shoot down as many of the fliers as possible just in case.

Up there, they would stall for time and look down on the battlefield to keep their eyes on Kiran. She’d be wearing her scarf fashioned as a hood to cover her mouth and nose from the smoke and hide her identity from the enemy soldiers, but also to allow the kids to spot her more easily from above. They would follow her with their eyes and wait until she had successfully escaped with the siblings to rejoin them once things had calmed down.

 

—I know it’s scary, but I also know you two are strong enough to get through this together. — _she smiled warmly, her stare shifting from the girl to the boy._ — We’ll see eachother soon again, I promise.

 

They shared looks of concern before hugging her tightly, promising to be careful.

Pushing the window open, she observed the ground below. Her chamber was located on the second floor of the castle, so Kana had enough space to jump down and transform before hitting the ground.   
She helped the girl out the window and watched with silent awe the transformation unfold outside. Once the girl had become the strange goat/dragon/thing, Kiran helped Morgan out the window and onto Kana’s back, handing him his tome upon verifying he was settled.   
The boy waved goodbye for the both of them, and the draconic wings took off, sending a gust of air directly into Kiran’s face.   
When she opened her eyes again, the kids were but a dot in the sky.

Now the stage three of the plan had begun.

 

Sidestepping inside the room, she quickly fetched the satchel she’d bought one evening after storytime in the plaza, back when the citizens were still in the capital. She remembered Kana commenting enthusiastically how she could fit in there and, after trying it out, Kiran was surprised to find it to be true.

She made sure all her belongings were on her pouch hanging on the opposite side of the satchel on her hip, the quiver packed with the ten pointy sticks and the ten arrows, and her bow was on her back before pacing around the room to get the plan going.

 

From her chambers she took a blanket, rolled it up to the tiniest possible size and stored it in the bag along with two small hand towels, the three objects bundled inside a pillow cover for organization's sake. She left the room and made her way over to the kitchen, finding it as empty as she’d expected.   
Everyone was far too busy manning the gates and arranging the weaponry to be in the rest of the castle.

From there, she took two small pots, fit one into the other and shoved them to the bottom of the satchel. Two small wooden bowls (they’d have to rotate them, but whatever), a handful of spoons, a knife and a relatively big wooden spoon also made their way into the pots to save space. She moved on to the pantry and fetched a napkin to wrap a fistfull of salt in, along with another one for sugar. Throwing pepper pips into the pots too, she found a canteen and filled it with water, storing it to the side. Before leaving, she decided to grab some bread and a slice of cheese to serve them before they had to start hunting down their food.   
She grabbed a small dish towel on the go and left the kitchen with a decently filled satchel, though not heavy enough to be a bother.

 

The last stop was by the throne room.

 

Kiran entered through a side door, and found just what she’d expected: the Queen was standing solemnly in front of the throne, one maid at each side, and a handful of guards were arranged in a defensive formation by the main doors.

Her Majesty had an ornamental bow in one hand and a quiver with two lone arrows in it hanging from her hip.

 

—Kiran. — _the Queen called out, with the calmness of someone who’s steeled themselves for the worst._

—Your Majesty. — _Kiran jogged to stand in front of her, kneeling down and lowering her head. At least for the last time she’d see her, it felt correct to do it._

 

There was a beat of silence before she felt something cold touch her shoulder, then leave. The same object then repeated the process on her other shoulder, and she couldn’t help but wonder if she was getting knighted.   
Now that’d be certainly something… odd.

 

—You may rise. — _the Queen broke the silence._

 

Kiran did as she was told and noticed the object being handed to her by Her Majesty.   
It was one of the ornamental arrows from her quiver, a beautiful thing with ice patterns all over it. The arrowhead itself seemed to be made out of some type of diamond.   
She looked at the Queen, arching a brow.

 

—Take it. — _the woman indicated, her hands holding the arrow out to her inching closer._

—But… — _Kiran began, unsure of what was the meaning of that, but taking it gingerly between her hands nonetheless. It was cold._ — Your Majesty, this leaves you with a single arrow. And why even give me this? I have plenty.

—One arrow is everything I will need. — _the Queen spoke with a sad fierceness in her tone._ — And these ones are special. Somewhere down the line, if you are ever to bring down King Surtr… — _a small pause._ — use it.

 

Kiran stared at her for a full second before nodding softly, storing the arrow deep inside the satchel. For how valuable it sounded, there was no way she’d leave it on the quiver with the rest.

 

—Thank you. — _she mumbled, not knowing what to say to that._

 

The Queen took one of Kiran’s hands and stepped back, kneeling down and lowering her head to place her forehead on the back of her hand.   
All guards and maids on the room were stunned into an even deeper silence.

 

—Please… watch over them. I don’t care if it’s just one or the four of them, just… please… — _the Queen whispered, even if in the silence of the scene everyone was able to hear it_.— Will you?

—... I will.

—May the Gods we with you, Kiran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we have some angsty stuff.  
> Also here Kiran receives mcguffin no1: the arrow~
> 
> RIP Queen Máni, you all know what's going to happen to her. I felt kind of bad having to give her character life knowing it would end soon enough, but it had to be done ;;;;;
> 
> On a side note, Kiran's scarf is white, so that's why she's going to use it to be recognized by the kids from above. Among the fire, smoke and dark brown of the road and ground, a white dot stands out just enough.  
> And when she eventually reaches the snow outside of the capital, her black shirt and dark brownish green cloth will do the job just fine.


	12. The Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran maneuvers herself through a city under siege.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayyy sorry it took me this long to update, I wrote this chapter like two times but wasn't content with some of the parts so I kept changing them rip
> 
> Enjoy~

Kiran rushed through the hallways and corridors of the castle, hearing the commotion begin to bubble up by the main entrance. She made her way over to a storage room and emerged into the inner gardens through a window.

Quickly, she found that one tree she’d spotted while playing outside with the kids, one high enough and close enough to the bordering wall she could use to escape.

She climbed up to the top branches and sat there for a moment, arranging her scarf to resemble a makeshift hood and making sure her nose and mouth were covered on the front.   
Wouldn’t want to breathe in all the smoke from the probably-burning houses.

 

Without giving herself time to hesitate, she leaped from the branch she was perched on and caught the top of the wall, ignoring the sting on her knees from the hit. She pushed herself up and sling her legs over it and to the other side, dropping unceremoniously to the ground.

She hit her thighs and elbows on the landing, but she’d survive.

 

Once outside the castle, she took cover behind some wooden boxes in an alleyway and assessed the situation from where she could peek over the wall.

It was a royal disaster.

 

The main enemy forces were advancing on the castle while the flanks dealt with the guards. Most houses were, as she’d predicted, being burned down and ransacked, a section of the red and golden clad soldiers taking what they could from the chaos.

Kiran willed her heart to stop pumping so hard on her chest and took a steadying breath, calming down.

There was no turning back now, she had to do this. If dissociating a little was going to help, then so be it. She closed her eyes, inhaled, exhaled, and opened them again with a steel-veiled resolve protecting the turmoil of panic and fear inside her.   
Mission: start.

 

Kiran held her bow with her dominant hand and kept the other hovering near the quiver to pull arrows out at a moment's notice. Cautiously, she sneaked around the alleyway and waited for some soldiers to pass by before booking it to the street parallel to hers.

She rounded the corner and hurried to the next, emerging in one of the main roads. The Niflese soldiers were clearly overpowered, trying as best as they could to hold their lines despite being under the literal fire from enemy mages and constant attack of the opposing forces.

Looking around, she used some wooden crates to climb onto the roofs of the houses, her scarf over her head and face and the cotton cloth around her waist ruffling next to her by the currents of hot air from the flames.

She took out one of the pointy sticks and examined the fight for a moment for the best spot to shoot at. One that would help the most. The one spot that would let her do multiple things with one shot.   
Upon finding it, she waited patiently for a couple of seconds before lifting her bow, aiming, and letting the projectile loose in one single motion.

 

The pointy stick darted through the air and went through the robes of one of the mages, sinking into the road by their feet and making them trip over the clothes. Their tome flew out of their hands in the surprise of the fall and slammed their companion’s face, causing them to misfire a spell and hit their own vanguard with a gigantic fireball.

Content with the chaos it caused on the enemy lines, Kiran was quick to jump to another roof and away from it all, least someone saw her.

 

She continued to sneak around the disaster, causing chain reactions on the main confrontation areas to help the Niflese as best as she could before dashing away back into the shadows. Despite having her scarf over her mouth and nose, she had to pause a couple of times due to a coughing fit.   
It wasn’t healthy to keep inhaling the smoke, even more so when she kept to the roofs where all the particles went instead of staying low.   
But if she did that, then Morgan and Kana wouldn’t be able to see her from above.

 

So after who-knows-how-long, she climbed up one of the highest buildings of the area she was in and sat atop the roof, making sure none of the soldiers below could see her. Taking a few seconds to rest, she looked up into the beautiful sky of another morning in Nifl.   
Except it was dusted with black and grey clouds of smoke and peppered with wyverns flying to attack the castle.

Kiran tried not to gawk at them nor feel guilty as she raised her bow and took another pointy stick from her quiver.

 

One down.   
Two.   
Thre-

 

—Up there! 

 

Startled by the scream aimed in her direction, she whipped her head around just in time to see a massive fireball coming her way.

Alarmed, she hung her bow on her back and leaped forward without much thought, just trying to get away from the blast. She felt the heat and the expansive shock wave behind her push her even farther than what she’d intended, and she ended up flying past the immediate roof and towards the next one.

Extending her hands and legs forward, she hit the inclined roof and her feet quickly slipped due to the angle. She was fast to hang on and push to the front, throwing herself over the highest point in the roof and sliding a bit down the other side, the one not facing the enemy soldiers whose steps she could hear coming after her. There was stabbing sounds in the opposite side of the roof and a couple of fireballs flew over her head before she dared peek over the beam.   
Four arrows were stuck where she’d landed, and the high roof she’d been sniping wyverns from was now burning on the ground along with the rest of the building.

 

No longer being able to keep her heart from thumping hard against her chest, Kiran dashed to grab the four arrows stuck near her and fetched her bow, aiming down at her pursuers. Out of time to hesitate, she opted to take out the ranged attackers first.

 

Her first shot missed the fire mage and hit a swordsman on the thigh. She pretended not to hear his screams of agony (and with her heart beating so loudly in her ears, she might as well have) as she took out another pointy stick and drew in the string back to her cheek.   
Her second shot missed a mage’s head, but went through an archer’s neck instead. Kiran closed her eyes shut and focused on taking another stick from her quiver.

Before she could shoot again, a row of smaller fireballs were casted towards her, and she was forced to move. She scrambled out of the current roof and took a daring leap over a street to land haphazardly atop what seemed to be a shop. Her feet made quick work of the steep of the roof to get out of the way of more arrows, taking cover behind the beam to finish fetching the next stick.

Like a sniper on a mission, she leaned over the wood and shot a mage right through the forehead, causing the swordsmen and the lance-wielding soldiers behind to skirt around them to continue, accidentally clogging up the street behind them. Kiran took the chance to pull out two more sticks, managing to get a mage on the chest but sadly missing the next one, hitting a swordsman on the helmet instead (which the stick bounced off of, obviously).

 

Biting her lower lip to hold back a cough, she bolted away from her spot to miserably jump onto another roof, barely escaping the blast from the fireballs that destroyed her previous perch. She was surprised she came out unscathed after hitting the roof nearly face-first and almost falling down into the alleyway, but she didn’t have the time to question her luck.   
She was all out of pointy sticks.

 

In any normal situation, she would’ve thought of tricking the soldiers into shooting at her so she could collect the arrows like she’d done before, but there was no time for logical thinking in that moment. Despite her face not showing it, Kiran was scared shitless and her hands were trembling with either fear or adrenaline, maybe even both. And since there was nobody else but her there, there was nobody to pretend to, her breathing was becoming uneven and raspy.   
The smoke she was inhaling wasn’t helping.

What time was it, anyway? How long had this all been going? How long could her lungs last her?   
She’d have to find out.

 

Running away from more fireblasts, Kiran continued her way from roof to roof. She managed to shoot down two more mages, after only one more failed attempt, but she didn’t stick long to watch them die. Without the ranged attackers, it was clear the little squad that was after her figured it would be impossible to get her down.   
She was relieved to turn her head over her shoulder and find the soldiers giving up on her and moving to assist their front lines.

 

Letting out a breath she’d been holding, she slip down back onto the ground and hid between some crates, crouching down until she was nearly curled up on the floor trying to get the slightly cleaner air down there.   
She went into a silent coughing fit, her lungs aching from the effort and the burning of the smoke she’d inhaled.

 

After her spasms had receded, she forced herself to climb back up onto the roof.   
She had to find the royal siblings.

 

Tired, but not able to give up, she hung her bow on her back and decided to head for the mains street to the castle. If the siblings were anywhere in the city, they had to be closest to the main conflict.   
When she reached a roof overlooking the biggest street, however, one thing was immediately apparent.

The Niflese flag that had been proudly waving atop the castle was now replaced with a red and golden flag Kiran didn’t recognize.   
That had to be the emblem of Múspell.

But that meant the Queen had been taken down already. If the Queen was dead, then why was the fighting in the rest of the city still going on?   
Where were the siblings if there was literally nobody else fighting by the front gates?   
She had to find them.

 

Kiran ran, her feet and legs hurting with each step and each jump she took. She figured the only reason she hadn’t fainted form suffocation yet was because her moving so fast cleared the air around her just enough to not instantly kill her.   
It was something, at least.

 

Five minutes after spotting the change of flags Kiran had arrived back at a street connecting to the plaza, having followed a small trail of Múspellian soldiers rushing towards that location. She hid behind a roof and peeked over the beam, her eyes widening and regretting it immediately due to the smoke.   
The Prince was down there, atop his horse, trying to break through a defensive formation to escape the rest of the soldiers following him.

 

She took out one of the arrows and felt the weight on her hand, getting used to it so her shot wouldn’t miss. She rose to a knee and lifted her bow, aimed at the lance wielding soldier catching up to the Prince from behind him, and let the arrow free.   
It veered in its trajectory and hit the soldier on the thigh, which still caused him to double down and fall to the ground with a loud yelp of pain.

Kiran shot a second time, this time managing to get the following soldier on the neck. She fought back the shiver running up her spine and shifted her attention to the Prince, who’d just noticed the commotion behind him.

His sword slashed through the last swordsman in front of him and he whipped his head around to see the group running to catch up to him, noticing the arrows on the two laying dead not far from his position.

Kiran shot again, this time the arrow hitting the next soldier on the stomach, and the Prince turned his head to see who was helping him.   
They exchanged heavy looks for a split second before Kiran pointed to the road in front of him, meaning she wanted him to take the left on the upcoming fork.

The Prince seemed to catch that, and directed his steed to stop nervously stepping in place and run forward. She’d been around that area before and found it crawling with soldiers, but if they were all trying to track down the royal siblings then that meant they had all but left that street empty, making it safe for the Prince to head there.

 

Without a second to spare, Kiran leaped over the street and to the house in front, taking another arrow and shooting the next soldier once she’d landed decently enough. She ran over the beam to dodge a fireball and took yet another arrow out, this one ending through the mage’s chest.

 

Down to ten arrows, Kiran rushed through the rooftops to reach the street the Prince should be at by that moment. In her hurry, she landed horribly on the last rooftop and twisted her ankle slightly, wobbling as fast as possible over the beam and letting herself slide down on the street, the Prince ushering his steed to approach once he spotted her.

She rolled over her shoulder once she hit the ground and pushed herself up on one helf, letting the damaged one go limp for a moment as she scanned the street and confirmed they were safe for a moment.

The Prince dismounted quickly and rushed to her side.

 

—Miss Kiran! — _he called out, grabbing her elbows and helping her regain her bearings_.— That was a disastrous fall, are you unharmed?

—Don’t mind me, where are the other three? — _she was quick to ask, holding back a cough, the horse close by making scared little noises._

—We… we scattered after the throne room was overtaken. — _he looked to the side, frustrated._ — It was Ylgr’s idea, she said we stood a better chance separated than dragging all the attention to one place.

—Well, we need to find them and get out of here! — _Kiran attempted to free herself from his grasp._

—Wait a moment- Where are the kids?! — _he questioned, looking around and behind her, as if he was going to find Kana and Morgan hiding behind her legs._

—I told them to go ahead, they’ll meet up with me after-

 

The sound of footsteps rushing to them and armor clinking interrupted Kiran, making them both turn their attention to the soldiers rounding the corner behind them.

Before having time to react at all, Kiran felt the hands on her elbows grasp her sides and all of a sudden she was pulled up from the ground and quickly seated atop the horse nervously tapping its hooves on the ground.

 

—Highness, wha-?! — _she stuttered, dazzled, sitting correctly on the mount._

—Hold on tight! — _he commanded, climbing to take his seat in front of her and pulling on the reins._

 

Kiran’s hands shot to grasp the Prince’s cape for dear life as the horse took off away from the upcoming soldiers. They went through a cloud of smoke and emerged back into the main street, the steed doubting in place as the royal decided which road to take for a single second. 

Behind him, she secured her hold on the horse with her legs and looked up over her shoulders, gulping roughly at the sight of wyverns following after them. She held her bow and took an arrow from her quiver, aiming up at the wings of the creature soaring quickly towards them.

It didn’t miss, but only by a small margin. As the wyvern plummeted down onto the footsoldiers scattering to avoid it, she focused on the other one and took into account their movement and speed before letting the next arrow loose.

 

They rushed through the streets of the city burning up in flames, hesitating in each corner and charging defensive lines to continue on. Kiran was down to three arrows (having taken down a bunch of wyverns and a couple of archers) when something white appeared in the corner of her field of vision.   
She whipped her head just in time to catch a glimpse of Princess Fjorm fighting her way through a horde of soldiers in a street parallel to theirs, before the horse rushed past the connecting alley and she lost sight of her.

 

—Highness, that way! — _she pointed to their right_.— I saw Princess Fjorm!

—What?!

 

The mount came to a halt, causing Kiran to almost slam against his back.

 

—Are you certain? — _he asked, voice hoarse._

—Yes, I’m sure! — _Kiran nodded, frantic, trying to stay calm_.— She was fighting some soldiers!

 

The Prince let out a small curse under his breath and directed the steed to continue forward. She was about to tell him they were going in the wrong direction when the horse took a sharp turn to the right and darted through a small road that left them on the parallel street, slightly behind the commotion.

Kiran took her bow and one hand reached to pull an arrow out, but she hesitated.   
What if she hit the Princess on accident? 

Prince Hríd seemed to catch onto her worries immediately, and threw his sword on the floor out of nowhere. 

 

The blade impaled the ground close to them and he pulled one of his gloves off in one swift movement, extending his pale hand towards the hilt of the sword out of his reach. To Kiran’s shock, a thin layer of ice started enveloping his fingertips, traveling up to his knuckles until a puff of cold air erupted around the blade, creating a white fog due to the contrast of temperatures.

There was a beat of silence (ignoring the battle some twenty meters from them) before the ground around the sword was suddenly covered by a thick layer of crystal clear ice, shooting in the direction of the soldiers attacking the Princess and crawling up their boots and legs before anyone had time to react.

The second the soldiers were frozen in place up to their knees, Princess Fjorm whipped her head around to look at them.

 

—Brother! — _she exclaimed, finishing down a soldier to her left_.— Miss Kiran!

—Fjorm, come he-!

 

Before the Prince could finish his sentence, a gigantic fireball struck the street not far from them, sending hot air and an expansive wave their way that forced everyone to cover their faces. The horse neighed in fear and attempted to run away, only staying in place because the Prince was telling him so.

Kiran had been about to call for the Princess, when a second fireball impacted between them. There was a strange sound in the middle of it, but she wasn’t able to see it from where she hid behind the royal’s cape. When she peeked over to the side, a heat wave hit her straight on the face, but she managed to notice a wall of ice standing in their way.   
Had Princess Fjorm done that to protect herself from the blast? But, how were they going to get to her now?!

 

The horse shuffled in its place, stepping back and forward, yanking its head to the sides to try and pull the reins to tell the Prince to get away. The royal leaned down over to the side and plucked his sword out of the ground, sheathing it away and fitting his glove back on his exposed hand.

 

—Wait a second, what are you doing?! — _Kiran questioned as he directed the steed to turn around, the flames approaching through the houses to their sides._

—Unless you want us to burn to the ground here, we need to leave. — _he stated, stern, yet clearly as agitated as her._

—But what about Princess Fjorm?! — _she looked back at the ice wall, the heat around them causing it to seem wavy in her eyes._

—I trained her well, she knows the streets to take to escape from here. — _the Prince spoke quickly, pulling on the reins to will the steed to move from its stupor_.— Glaðr, get us out of here!

 

The horse seemed to react to the mention of its name, taking off to where the Prince was directing it. However, a third ball of fire fell not far from them in that direction, and the royal pulled back on the reins to stop dead in their tracks. The stallion stood up on its back hooves to take a sharp turn back, making Kiran frantically wrap her arms around the Prince’s torso to not fall, and rushed to a side alley to their now-right.

She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to his back, trying to stay behind him as much as possible to not get smoke in her face as they rushed through the city atop the mount. The air swept around her, pulling on her scarf remaining stubbornly on her head and ruffling the cotton cloth over her legs, her satchel safely pressed between them. She didn’t raise her head to look at where they were going, but guessing by how fast the clacking of the hooves sounded on the ground and how they never once stopped to fend off soldiers it was safe to say they were getting lucky with their route picks.

 

After way-too-long, the hooves stopped clanking on ground and started stepping quickly through smoldered snow and dirt, Kiran opening her eyes and looking down to the side to find the path below them leading to the city, once a white blanket, was covered in bloodstains and mixed with dirt.   
It was so trashed their steps would barely leave marks, and even so it would be nearly impossible to tell the stallion’s apart from the soldiers’.

Kiran dared herself to stop clinging to the Prince like her lifeline and look over her shoulder to the city.   
She immediately regretted it.

 

It was a massive torch in the distance, the sky above it obscured by the dark clouds of smoke from the fire of the houses down below.

 

Trying to tear her gaze away from it, she looked up at the sky in search for the kids. They were far enough from the city for them to descend now.   
Where were they?

Nervous, she clenched the one hand she had holding onto the Prince’s came in anticipation. Oh, this had been a terrible idea, hadn’t it? Why were they not coming down? Something must’ve happened to them. Not only had she not managed to gather all the royal siblings, now she’d lost those two as well-

Her train of thought was interrupted by a figure breaking through the clouds above them and soaring down towards their fastly moving position.

 

—What is that?! — _the Prince grunted, hand reaching to grab the handle of his sword._

—Kana, Morgan! — _Kiran called out, relieved, swallowing down her panic._

 

The Prince let out a little confused “what?” under his breath as the goat-dragon-thing flew right over their heads and disappeared in a small flash of light, leaving two children to plop down right between Kiran and Hríd.

She caught them in her arms and held them tight, both kids wasting no time on clinging to her for dear life and weeping away their fear.

They were alright!   
They really were!

  
She closed her eyes and sighed silently, steeling herself. Now that they were back, there was no room for hesitation, no time to be afraid.   
She had to be strong for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kiran Solo - The Escapening  
> in which we establish this Kiran is way better at fleeing than fighting.
> 
> You'd be surprised what hysteric strenght and adrenaline can do to someone's physical capacities lol
> 
> RIP Queen Máni, you will be missed.


	13. Into the Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran, the kids and the Prince venture into the forest for cover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm back!   
> If you want my explanation as to why I was absent for so long I'd recomend you go read the end notes of my other fic's latest chapter (Worlds, I'm talking about Worlds), but here's a TL;DR:  
> Writing block combined with the start of uni
> 
> But I'm back so it doesn't matter! Enjoy this chapter~

They rode through the snow to what Kiran could only assume was the north for about two hours before reaching a forest and deciding they should stop to let the horse rest.

 

—We should be safe here for a moment. — _the Prince informed, voice hushed, dismounting._

 

As he helped the quiet children get down as well, Kiran remained atop the steed.   
Her body felt heavy. Breathing in and out was getting difficult. Had she inhaled that much smoke? She  _ had _ kept to the rooftops, after all, where the smoke rises to.

She tried to recall the consequences of smoke suffocation, but breathing was taking up most of her brain power at the moment. Her eyelids felt heavy, her head was lolling to the side. She was tired, oh so tired. If she could just… lay down for a bit. Was that the Prince’s voice? What was he saying? She couldn’t hear him. Her vision was going black. Oh, sleep sounded just about marvellous right now…

 

Kiran awoke harshly to a coughing fit that sent spasms through her whole body. Faintly aware of the shuffling to her side, she tried to get some deep breaths in, but found she lacked the strength to do so.

A pair of arms found their way to her shoulders, helping her sit up, and it was as if her air conducts were cleared of any obstructions. She gasped, her throat burning and her lungs squeezing inside her ribcage, and breathed in the clean air of the forest.

Right, the forest. They had arrived to a forest. And then she’d…   
Shit, she’d probably fainted from both overexertion and carbon dioxide poisoning. How long ago had that been? Judging by the gentleness of the arms helping her sit up, there was no way they had been found, much less captured.

 

With effort, she peered her eyes open and scanned what she could see. Prince Hríd was the one helping her to a seating position. There was a small, nearly dying campfire not far from them, and snuggled up between the fire and the resting horse were the kids.   
So they were all safe. She also noticed it was extremely dark, meaning it had to be nighttime.   
Which meant she’d been out for quite a while.

 

She managed to get her breathing down to a more decent level, all the while the Prince just knelt patiently to her side with one arm supporting her and the other ready for whatever might come next.

 

—I’m sorry. — _was the first thing she managed to get out, her voice hoarse from a compilation of things._

—No, don’t be. — _came his hushed, nearly whispered, reply. So the kids were asleep, huh_.— How are you feeling?

—Tired. — _a sarcastic chuckle left her, but she regretted it immediately. She went into another small coughing fit_.— But I’ll be fine, if that’s what you’re asking.

—You fainted on us a bit longer than six hours ago. — _the Prince stated, in a tone that was supposed to refute what she’d just said._

—Well, yes, but that was- — _another cough._ — That was from breathing too much smoke. I… kept to the rooftops so the kids would see me from above and follow along, but that meant taking in all the black clouds rising to the top. — _she breathed in, calmly, trying to go back to normal._ — I should be fine after enough rest. Sorry if I worried you.

—I figured it was something along the lines of exhaustion. — _he nodded, then looked over his shoulder to the kids_.— However, they cried for two hours straight before I managed to calm them down and somehow put them to sleep.

 

Kiran bit her lip at that.

Of course. Of course the kids had cried. She’d become their protector at some point, she was the one who promised she’d keep them safe and help them get back to their realms.   
What right did she have to go around fainting and leaving them essentially alone to cope with it? Oh, she was so not fit for this responsibility. But there was nobody else around to do it!

They were counting on her. She would never let them down again like that.

 

—Is it safe for us to sleep here? — _she asked eventually. The Prince had removed his arm on her shoulders once he deemed her fine enough._

—I will keep guard for the night. — _he simply stated, turning to face the fire again._

—Highness, you won’t be able to keep guard forever. — _Kiran attempted to discuss, but found she was way too tired to pose any decent arguments._ — You’ll have to sleep eventually.

—And I will. — _he stoked the flames_.— But not tonight. Now, sleep.

 

She let out a nearly silent sigh, which produced a small cough from her irritated throat, but she complied nonetheless. Fetching the blanket from the depths of her satchel, she scooted over to the kids on the opposite side of the fireplace and covered them with it. Then, she curled up to their side and covered herself with her cotton cloth.   
Which, sadly enough, smelled like burnt wood.

 

That night, Kiran had a nightmare so horrible she wished she'd never have it again, but knew in the back of her mind no gods would ever grant her that wish.

She was burning, but her body refused to give in. It hurt, it bit at her skin, but left no visible damage. When smoke started coming out of her, however, she began suffocating. She had just enough timeframes to get some air in to stay alive, but nothing more.  
Then she heard Morgan and Kana's cries of agony in the distance and she was woken up by the Prince shaking her shoulder.

She nearly thanked him.

 

—We should get moving. — _he informed._ — It isn't safe to stay put for longer than a night, Múspell's soldiers will find us sooner or later. 

 

Kiran nodded softly, having been kicked fully awake due to the nightmare. She swallowed past a small lump in her throat and tied the cotton cloth around her waist again.

 

—Kana, Morgan. — _she shook the kids gently, her volume low, hearing the Prince ready the horse (he’d called it Glaðr?) behind them._

 

The kids shifted in their sleep wearily and slowly opened their eyes.   
The moment they noticed her, they sprung from their positions and clung to her like their lives depended on it.

 

There was a mess of exclamations hushed by the Prince comprised mostly of Kiran's name and “you're alright!”s.

 

—W-We- We thought y-y-you had- — _Morgan stuttered, almost crushing her in his hug. Stars the boy had some strength._

—Don’t leave us ever again! — _Kana ordered through her tears._

—I won't, I'm sorry. — _Kiran cooed as best she could with her sore throat._ — I breathed in too much smoke, is all. 

 

A hand coming to rest on her shoulder prompted her to look up, finding Prince Hríd making a motion with his head to indicate the horse ready to go.

Right…

 

—Listen, we should get moving. — _she spoke softly to the children, who separated ever so slightly to look at her._ — Until we can find safe haven, we'll be in the run from now on.

—But… where will we go? — _Kana wiped her tears harshly._

—That’s… — _Kiran trailed off._

—I have what you could consider “a plan”. — _the Prince helped from behind._ — And for that we need to get moving now.

—You heard him. — _Kiran nodded._

 

Campfire remains buried, footprints of the night erased and blanket stored, they mounted Glaðr and continued their marching.

 

—So? — _Kiran asked softly as they traversed the forest at a brisk pace. The kids were once again seated between the two adults, and she held onto the Prince's cape so her arms would act as sort of railings for the children._

—We cannot risk being anywhere in open terrain. — _he began, voice hushed and serious, hands holding tightly to the reins_.— Múspell's most threatening forces are their fire mages and wyvern riders.

—But that means we can't risk to remain in the forest either. — _Kiran pointed out, trying not to let her nerves seep through her voice._

—Yes, but the wyvern riders would find us faster in the open than a battalion of mages would by searching these woods. — _he shook his head no. She tried no to bite her lip. Their options were so few and so risky._

—So your pseudo plan is…? — _she prodded, now slightly afraid of the answer._

—We have no choice but to flee Nifl. — _he stated, bitter. She couldn't imagine how frustrating it must be for him, as a Prince, to leave his kingdom behind at the hands of a bloodthirsty enemy_.— We can reach the border through this forest. Once out we should be in safer territory.

—Um. — _she pursed her lips._ — But wouldn't the neighboring kingdom mind us trespassing?

—The neighboring…? — _the Prince repeated, confused, before stopping himself upon reaching a realization_.— Oh, no. There is no longer a neighboring kingdom. The expanse of land separating Nifl from Múspell doesn't belong to anyone anymore. We call it the “Barren Lands”.

—… — _Kiran sat back on her spot. That was some interesting information._ — Alright, I’ll defer to your judgement.

 

The Prince nodded to that and returned his attention to the woods in front of them.

It was dark, with only small spots of light reaching the ground through the leaves above them to let them know it was, in fact, daytime. The faint chirps and singing of the birds could be heard in the distance, but aside from that the woods seemed to be empty.   
However, judging by what she’d seen of Nifl so far, she wouldn’t be surprised if deer, moose or even wolves inhabited this place as well.   
Or, uh, maybe even  _ other things _ too, seeing as magic and dragons were real in this realm.

Kiran grew nervous.

 

—Uh… Highness? — _she began, softly. The kids were absentmindedly playing with her scarf._

—Yes?

—What, um, lives in these woods? — _Kiran asked, meekly._

—Deer, and several species of birds and rabbits. — _he explained, but paused for a moment_.— Around this time of the year… wolves too. And… I don’t know if they live in your realm as well, but these woods, Mímameiðr’s Forest, are known to be the home of… neighbors.

—So they are here… — _she looked around the tree trunks and bushes, suddenly feeling extremely self conscious_.— And… don’t they mind us being here?

—They understand these woods are traversed by humans enough not to bother us. — _the Prince simply stated, but she didn’t miss how his grip on the reins tightened slightly._ — However, they will start getting uncomfortable if we remain here for longer than two weeks, and might decide to trap us in.

—I see, makes sense… — _she let out a silent sigh._ — But why two weeks, though? Seems oddly specific.

—… A lot of things have happened in this forest in the past. — _was all he said, and she decided not to pursue the topic for now._

 

The brisk pace they had established continued on through the morning. Kiran supposed the Prince had decided to try and put as much distance as possible between them and the capital the sooner they could before they inevitably had to slow down due to the horse’s stamina. 

They made a small stop at noon by a small stream of water where the steed rested and drank, and Kiran re-filled the canteen she was carrying. The Prince checked on the surroundings, apparently trying to determine their course, and the kids stuck close to her with palpable nervousness.

 

Then, they moved out again.

By the time night fell and the woods had become nothing short of a horror story setting, they had come across a small pond amongst the bushes. They made a campfire with Morgan’s help nearby and cleared the area off some of the leaves to stop there for the night.

 

Kiran and Kana left the other two by the fire to clean themselves a little in the pond. With the help of one of the hand towels, they more or less got rid of most of the grime and leftover ashes, but didn’t venture into the water out of the lack of a proper body towel with which to dry themselves afterwards.

They spread the hand towels (one they used to dry off a little and the other to wash) over the grass near the fire and sat guard by the horse as the other two left for the pond.

 

Once the four of them were sitting around the bonfire (or rather, the kids bundled up at Kiran’s sides and the Prince not far), Kiran opened her satchel and searched through it. She got the loaf of bread and the slice of cheese, as well as the knife, and divided it all for them four.    
The others thanked the food softly, and they ate in silence.

 

Kiran couldn’t handle the fearful suspense hanging over them, but at the same time she didn’t know what to do about it. She hated it. It made her want to hide, want to curl up and wait for whatever was happening to pass. But she couldn’t, because the kids were depending on her. Yet, what could she do? What could she say?

She raised her gaze again, and found the Prince eyeing her satchel.

 

—What else did you pack? — _he asked, nearly a whisper._

—Oh, um… — _she blinked and took a look inside_.— Mostly bowls in case we ever get ingredients to make soup or other meals. Also some sugar, pepper…

—Salt too? — _that seemed to catch his attention, for his tone brightened slightly._

—Eh- yes, salt too. — _she was confused by that, but didn’t question it, closing the satchel again._

 

He nodded, probably more to himself, as he looked back at the flames. It seemed he was making plans in his mind.   
Kiran, on her part, looked around until her eyes landed on the traveling pouches attached to Glaðr’s saddle.

 

—And what's in there? — _she pointed._

—I didn’t get to pack anything, so it has only the basic things we soldiers carry. — _the Prince fiddled with a stick between his fingers, also looking at the steed._ — A tent, a multipurpose knife, stakes, some rope, some medicine, what’s left of some bandages, flint and a stone to make a fire… although that’s irrelevant now. — _he tossed the stick into the flames._ — I would have a bedroll had it not been torn by Collin during our last expedition... and had I remembered to re-pack one at the castle, too. — _he sighed._

—Wait… you have a tent? — _she questioned._

—Yes? — _his attention fell on her._

 

There was silence for a moment as Kiran simply stared in disbelief at him and the Prince tried to figure out what her look meant.   
The kids had dozed off by her side.

 

—Oh, we can’t pitch tents in Mímameiðr’s Forest. — _he eventually said, and she was surprised by that._

—What? Why not? — _Kiran asked, now confused._

—The neighbors don’t take kindly to anyone who hides, they get suspicious. — _he explained._ — So it’s best to stay in the open like this. We could use tree leaves for cover if we find one low enough, but nothing that wasn’t previously here… — _he trailed off._ — Unless there’s a redhead in the group, which we don’t have. They like red hair a lot, so they will be a lot more lenient with groups with those people among them.

—That’s… oddly specific, but okay… — _she mused, staring at the fire. So redheads, huh? Too bad they were three brunettes and a… uh… grayish blond?_

—But what? — _the Prince asked._

 

Kiran blinked and looked at him, supposing she’d misheard and waiting for him to repeat.   
She hadn’t caught his whole question, right?

But the Prince stared back at her, waiting for  _ her _ answer.

 

—Sorry, I… didn’t catch that. — _Kiran prodded, sheepishly._

—You said “oddly specific, but…” and something else I didn’t quite understand. — _he helped._

—Oh- I said okay, didn’t I? Um… — _she averted her gaze. What a slip up_.— I meant “alright”, sorry.

—That’s a… strange word for alright… — _the Prince mused, clearly not convinced._

—Nobody uses it here, the kids didn’t understand it either. — _her attention fell on the children, already asleep. They should be turning in for the night as well._ — Well I guess it did appear sometime in the eighteen hundreds…

—Sometime in the- I’m sorry, what? — _that seemed to catch the Prince off guard._

—That’s, uhh… — _Kiran mumbled. Stars, she was tired and so not up to explaining just how different the place she came from was from this one._ — Way too long an explanation for tonight, Highness, and I... kinda want to sleep?

 

Prince Hríd let out a soft sigh, but dropped the subject regardless. He mumbled a small “fair enough” and busied himself with stoking the fire a little as Kiran carefully shuffled the kids around to a better position. 

She covered them with the blanket and lied down to their side, cocooning herself up in her cotton cloth.   
But then she remembered the Prince was still up.   
She rose on her elbows.

 

—Highness?

—Yes?

—Are you… not going to sleep?

 

The Prince just gave her a blank look and motioned in the woods’ general direction with both hands, as if that was enough of an explanation.   
Frustratingly enough, it was.

 

—But you should, though. — _she stated, a bit worried_.— You do know the human body can’t go on for longer than three days without sleep, else it’ll start to malfunction, right?

—I’m a soldier, Miss Kiran. — _he said, serious, expression unchanged_.— I’ve been trained to go on longer without sleep than the rest of you.

—Well, I think it’s precisely because you’re a soldier that you should be the one getting the most rest out of the two of us. — _she insisted_.— You’re the strongest one, we need you in your best condition. Look, we could take turns, right? You stayed up last night, I can stay guard for tonight.

—You just told me you wanted to sleep. — _he countered, unfaced._

—Yes, but we have other priorities, don’t we?

—That we do, in fact. Do you know what those priorities are? — _he poked the burning logs with a stick, causing the flames to grow for a moment._ — The three of you. Now, sleep.

 

Kiran, unable to form a cohesive sentence to continue arguing due to the impression, simply furrowed her brow and let herself fall onto her back again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, for those of you who follow Worlds: yes, this is sort of a parallel universe to that story. I mean I already made up a bunch of lore and places for the world of Zenith so who tells me I can't use them as well for this fic which also takes place in the same realm?  
> Don't worry, they're still separate stories so you don't need to go read Worlds to get the lore you'll need for this story (though considering the chapter count of that fic you would be getting much more lore anyways), so you can just stay here no problem and everything will be explained when it needs be!
> 
> Though I know some of you read Worlds too so uh yeah lots of things are going to be expanded upon here, specially concerning Nifl and co.
> 
> Also uh apparently Hríd is the oldest of the siblings??? Idk I think one of those new things they included with Sharena's training or some shit in FEH stated Hríd was the oldest of the four. And I honest to god can't really recall ever reading Gunnthrá was the oldest so I guess I just assumed that lmao  
> Too late, we're rolling with Gunn as the oldest in both here and Worlds as much as we are rolling with a slightly ooc Hríd.


	14. Wolf's Prey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran and company try to avoid the wolves of the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It looks like my chapters are getting longer and longer lol  
> Maybe that writer's block I had wasn't so bad after all? Who knows!
> 
> I hope you like this one!

To say that Kiran had a nightmare again would be an understatement. She had been running in a dark hall filled with smoke and the smell of burnt flesh, suffocating with every step as cries of pain echoed in the distant background.  
She was once again woken up by the Prince shaking her shoulder, and she went into a coughing fit.

Her throat was getting better, but it was still slightly sore.

 

She felt a firm pair of hands help her sit up to clear her breathing conducts, and took some time to steady her breathing.

 

—Better? — _came the Prince’s hushed question. There was a strange gentleness to it that Kiran couldn’t quite place._

—Yeah, thank you. — _she sighed, finally opening her eyes to look around them. It was still rather dark._ — Is it daytime already? Did something happen?

—It’s nearly sunrise, look. — _he indicated to her side, kneeling down close to her._

 

Kiran followed his finger with her gaze until it landed on Glaðr. The horse was standing and ready to go, huffing softly and stomping on the ground nervously as it looked around with apparent unease.

 

—We heard a wolf’s search call some minutes ago, and if Glaðr is jittery it means they’re looking for us. — _the Prince informed._

—Oh no. — _was all she managed to formulate._

—Oh no indeed. Let’s get moving. — _he stood up._

 

He helped her up the steed after gathering the blanket and burying the campfire, and lifted the kids to place them in front of her. As he took his seat as well, Kana shuffled uncomfortable and mumbled something in her sleep.   
They took off without another second to spare, Kiran holding tightly to the Prince’s cape with the cotton cloth still tied around her shoulders. Morgan woke up somewhere along the way, and she did her best to explain what was going on without causing him to panic.   
He was very much scared shitless by the situation, but he managed to keep himself under control and hang on tight to Kiran and the still sleeping Kana.

 

They made their way through the forest on a near sprint pace, the Prince redirecting Glaðr from time to time to stay in whatever course he had traced in his mind and could somehow see in the endless maze that were those woods. Kiran could only hope he knew what he was doing, and that they weren’t getting lost in there.

 

After nearly half an hour of non-stop advancing, they reached a small ledge down to a shallow hollow, which the Prince maneuvered Glaðr to descend into. Once down, they dismounted the steed and let it breathe for a moment. Kana was fully woken up, and there was silence for some minutes as the Prince kept a trained eye on their surroundings and Kiran did her best to calm down the kids’ nerves.

 

—W-Wolves? As in, the big scary dogs? — _Kana cried out, her voice hushed down to a whisper from the fear. She clinged to Kiran’s arm._

—Yes, those ones. — _Kiran nodded_.— Keep your voices down, his Highness and I will protect you.

—We’ll be fine, right? He has a sword and you have a bow and arrows. — _Morgan attempted to be optimistic, even if his voice quivered as he spoke._

—I don’t think the neighbors will be happy if we kill anything we won’t consume. — _Kiran mumbled, brushing Kana’s hair. Back in her world, she used to have a friend who was very into nature, sigils and witchcraft; so she had more or less learned a couple of things through osmosis._

—What neighbors? — _Morgan questioned, concerned._

—The true inhabitants of this forest. — _she explained._ — This is their home, and we’re the ones intruding. We don’t want to disrespect them.

 

The boy gulped and nodded slowly.

 

Glaðr huffed and whined insistently, stomping in place and pulling on the reins the Prince held strongly to his side. Kiran scanned her surroundings with growing fear, keeping the children close to her side. Something was coming, she could feel it. 

The Prince turned to look at her.

 

—Hold on to Glaðr’s reins and stay behind me. — _he commanded._

 

Kiran took the reins from his hands and shuffled the kids to stand behind the Prince as she struggled to keep the horse from pulling her off her feet. Hríd steeped in front of the other three protectively, drawing his sword.

From their flanks and front appeared a group of five wolves, two to the left, two to the right, and the alpha directly facing them.

 

Kana let out a muffled whimper of fear as Morgan covered her mouth with his hand to keep her from making any more noise. Kiran, meanwhile, stepped in front of the kids with some effort, the steed pulling on its reins in panic. To make sure she wouldn’t accidentally let go of Glaðr, she twisted and wrapped the reins around her dominant hand and held on with the other as well.    
The Prince stepped back, standing closer to them.

 

The wolves kept vigilant eyes on them, slowly but surely inching their way closer. It seemed as if they were more checking them out rather than hunting them, but Kiran knew they could switch their focus in any second were they to consider them a threat to this forest.   
Or an easy prey.

 

Her mind was reeling. Kana was shaking against her leg and Morgan was nearly tearing her cotton cloth apart with how strongly he was gripping it. What now? What could they do? They could theoretically try to fight the wolves, but the neighbors would get mad at that. Besides, two against five of those beasts wasn’t good odds in her mind.

Then, the alpha jumped in to attack.

 

It all happened so quickly. The biggest of the five wolves lurched forward towards the Prince, the other four following suit. Glaðr pulled on its reins, yanking on Kiran’s arms as she struggled to keep it together. She heard more than saw the Prince’s sword stabbing the ground under them, and when she managed to get a view of the scene she saw a coat of ice coming from the sword spreading fast towards the beasts. It froze the ground and the dead leaves on its wake, climbing up the wolves’ paws and trapping them in the ice up to their knees.

She had a split second to see this happen, however, for Glaðr neighed in terror and stood in its back hooves before taking off far from the scene.   
Of course, Kiran was yanked by her wrist tangled in the reins and dragged along.

 

She dug her heels and attempted to stop the horse, hearing Kana and Morgan let out screams of panic. She twisted her head to look back over her shoulder, only to find three more wolves had ambushed them from behind and over the small cliff they had been standing against.

 

—Highness! — _she called out, voice ragged from her sore throat, prompting Hríd to spin in place and face the newcomers._

 

However, as she was looking back, she wasn’t able to see what was coming. Her left foot stuck on a root, causing her to trip and stop posing a resistance for the horse to sprint away at maximum speed.

Kiran nearly hit the ground face first with the sudden yank on her dominant hand tangled with the reins. She got some steps in by dumb luck, her other hand reaching desperately for another something to hold on to. Glaðr ran like its life depended on it, which it probably did, and Kiran was forced to reckon with the sheer power of the stallion as she was dragged into the thick of the woods like a doll on a yarn thread. Her other hand gripped the saddle for dear life, her legs moving on autopilot as fast as she could manage to try and keep up.

 

The pull on her arm was so strong it felt like it was going to be ripped apart by the shoulder. She couldn’t feel the tips of her fingers, the tangle of the reins around her wrist cutting off the blood flow from her hand. So she tried to run, tried to jump from root to root on the way to more or less keep up with Glaðr. Her non-dominant hand did most of the work, gripping the saddle to stay closer to the steed and lessen the burden on her trapped hand. Every step was a leap across the forest, carried forward by the speed of the horse and the adrenaline giving her the strength to hold on with a single arm and in such an uncomfortable position. The little branches and leaves smacked against her side, some getting in small cuts on her uncovered face. It was only by some divine intervention that she hadn’t twisted an ankle.   
Yet.

 

She wanted to scream from the pain and the panic, but her brain refused to do either out of fear of alerting other wolves  _ or  _ scaring the poor stallion even more.

 

Glaðr dashed through the woods, dragging the poor Kiran along, for nearly five whole minutes before it suddenly broke to a stop, sliding through the ground for a bit before finally halting the marching. Kiran was nearly thrown to the front, only managing to stay to the side due to her killer hold on the saddle. The steed whined as she pulled on the reins accidentally to try and stand up properly. The second she managed to stay on her feet, Kiran took a quick and slightly panicked look around.

 

The only reason Glaðr had stopped, judging by how it still stomped in place and hesitated where to go next, was because they had reached a raging river. It was too wide for the horse to clear it in a single jump, and who knew how deep it was.

Yeah, Kiran didn't want to risk it either.

 

The stallion let out noises of fear and made a move to continue running, now to the left. Had it realized Hríd was nowhere to be seen? Was it now trying to go back to its master? 

Kiran tried not to panic, seeing as the horse was already filling the terrorized quota for both of them. Oh, she couldn't let it drag her away again! Sure, maybe with some dumb luck they managed to find their way back to the other three, but what if they got even more lost?!

Oh shit- the other three! They had been ambushed by more wolves, hadn't they? Yeah, that's what she'd managed to see!  
They needed to find them ASAP!

 

Quickly, even a bit forcefully, Kiran fumbled with the reins around her wrist to untangle herself. Once she was free, she caught onto the stallion's neck before it could run away again.

 

—Shhhh, calm down, Glaðr, we're alright! — _she whispered as sweetly as she could, struggling to keep a hold on the steed while petting its mane in some semblance of comfort_.— We're safe here, big boy, take a breath. Shhhhh… shhhh…

 

Somehow, the miserable whimpers and the stomping receded bit by bit, the horse succumbing to her affections.

 

—That’s more like it. There, there… — _she continued to comb through its mane, trying her best not to let her own fears seep through her voice. She kept an alert eye on their surroundings._ — Good boy, you're so brave…

 

Glaðr seemed to calm down a little, enough for her to reason with it- er… him?

…

Him, yeah.

Kiran turned her attention for a moment to the big nervous eyes of the stallion, getting the weird feeling that he could look straight into her soul. Oh, the poor thing. From what she'd seen so far he looked like such a well trained and obedient horse! She couldn't even imagine the absolute terror he must've felt to run away like that.

Not that she wanted to, she was pretty terrified as it was already.

 

—Alright, we need to find our way back to your master. — _she whispered, petting his forehead._ — Will you be good? Please?

 

The stallion let out a scared whine, huffed through his nostrils and stomped a bit in place, but otherwise made no move to run away from her or stop her.

 

—That’s a good boy. — _she gave his forehead a soft pat and managed a smile, as if to convince him everything would be fine._

 

She needed to convince herself of the same thing as she rounded the stallion and pulled herself up the saddle with much effort.  
Damn, the Prince made it look so easy.

Only when she was finally seated did she realize how sore her muscles were already. Her face stung with the several tiny cuts from the leaves and branches, and her wrist was burning.  
But she needed to find the other three.

 

Reins properly in her hands and Glaðr more nervous by the second, she took a few moments to think this through. How was she even going to find them?! She  _ had _ felt the horse zigzag a couple of times and make sharp turns out of nowhere while they were fleeing the small hollow. She couldn’t just… call out to them! That was bound to attract more wolves, she couldn’t risk it.   
She needed a way to track them down, but how…?

 

A gust of wind blew around her, sending a shiver down her spine.   
She could’ve sworn she heard someone speak.

 

Shaking the thought away, she looked around for options. Alright, what did she know about this forest? Deer, rabbits, birds and wolves made a home here, as well as… neighbors.   
Oh! Yes, the neighbors! If magic was actually real in this realm, wouldn’t a finding spell help her get back to the others?   
Well, she didn’t lose anything by trying.

 

She directed Glaðr around until he was standing by a tree so she could take a handful of small branches with leaves. She was pretty sure a specific kind of tree was needed for this, but she hoped her intentions would be enough to drive this little experiment forward.    
From her cotton cloth she took a small loose string of yarn, making sure not to affect the rest of it, and stopped to think for a second. The string was one of the inner ones, and therefore white. She needed a red one, but…

Oh, wait. Of course.

 

She brushed the string over her damaged cheek, smiling a little triumphant smile when it came out with patches of red – her blood. With her fingers she smothered it until the color had spread through the entire string, and then tied the branches with it.

Holding the little bundle in both her palms, she raised it at head-level and took a deep breath.

 

—Please, help me find my way back to my companions. — _she whispered, nervous, lowering her head._ — Please…

 

Another gust of wind blew by, and she shielded the bundle as best she could.   
There it was again! It sounded just like a voice! But no, she was overreacting. That  _ had _ to be just the wind, right?   
Right…?

 

Before she had another second to spiral deeper into her panic, she felt the bundle lift from her hands. Scared, she looked up to try and catch it, thinking the wind blew it away.   
To her surprise, it was suspended in the air at hand’s reach from her, the blood red yarn dangling ethereally to the sides.

 

Kiran gulped.    
Arlight, so it did work.

 

—Guide me. — _she pleaded._

 

To her surprise, the bundle floated over her head and to the right, giving no signs of stopping any time soon.   
So she grasped Glaðr’s reins and directed him to follow.

 

—Let’s go, big boy. — _she commanded, swallowing past the impending sense of being watched that was settling deep in her chest._

 

Glaðr huffed nervously, but complied nonetheless.

 

They kept a brisk pace as they followed the floating bundle, Kiran hoping dearly it was truly guiding them back to the other three and not somewhere else. She made sure to pet the horse’s mane in an attempt to reassure him she was there, all the while keeping her eyes peeled open for their surroundings.   
She didn’t like this feeling.

 

At some point, the bundle started changing course and going faster.    
Were the others moving? If they were alright, they were probably fleeing from the wolves.

Kiran commanded the stallion to pick up the pace as she shook the horrible what-if thoughts from her mind.

 

Nearly ten minutes passed before Kiran heard something else other than Glaðr’s galloping over dead leaves and branches. A group of human running steps, followed by…   
Wolves.

 

—I hear them! — _she whisper-yelled, relief washing over her for a split second._

 

The bundle seemed to lose all its magic an instant after that, falling limp on Kiran’s lap. So they had indeed reached them! But where…?

She looked around, desperate, until white flashes of something appeared between the foliage.    
That… that had to be the Prince!

 

With a whip of the reins, Kiran made Glaðr break into a full sprint and veer to the right, towards the spots of color among the green. She waited until they were fairly ahead of them to command the horse to break through.   
They jumped over tree saplings and through vines and bushes, emerging on another section of the forest.

Kiran whipped her head around to look over her shoulder as the three running behind her spotted her.

 

Prince Hríd, carrying Kana in one arm and holding Morgan’s hand with the other. Behind them and giving quick chase, the entire pack of eight wolves.   
Kiran saw surprise and relief wash over their faces in an instant.

 

However, upon switching his focus from where he was going to her, Morgan’s foot caught on a root. His hand slipped from the Prince’s hold and he fell on the ground with a muffled thud, rolling haphazardly over his shoulder before stopping.

Kiran had jumped from Glaðr before she had time to think through her actions.

 

The Prince stopped dead in his tracks the moment he noticed he’d lost hold on the boy, and Kiran dashed past him. She reached Morgan and knelt down to his side, trying to help him stand up.

But then the alpha of the wolves jumped on them.

 

Kiran’s fight or flight instinct switched, and she acted on pure reflexes. She let go of Morgan, who was still trying to untangle his foot, and held her compound bow with both hands by one of the ends. Adrenaline coursing through her veins, she took as step toward the leaping wolf-

And smacked the side of its face like a baseball with her bow.

The wolf was sent tumbling to the side, the rest of the pack stopping in their tracks with apparent shock.

 

Kiran hung her bow back on her shoulder and resumed her task of helping Morgan up. 

But not a second after, she heard the rest of the pack growl and inch closer.

With one arm helping the boy stand up, she turned her head to the wolves and reached for her bow once again with her free hand.

 

But before she could do much of anything, Prince Hríd stepped in front of them and stabbed the ground with his sword. Ice seeped from the blade and into the ground, spreading toward the beasts and climbing up their paws. Kiran took the chance to lift Morgan up to his feet, but was once again alerted by movement.

The wolves were forcing their way out of their frozen restraints.

She quickly glanced at the kneeling Prince, whose head hung low with exhaustion, hands holding onto the blade for support. Frozen mist came out of his lips with each breath he took, and a fine layer of ice was making its way up his forearms.   
Was that the consequence of doing that trick multiple times a day? Did it pull that much energy from him every time he did it?

 

—Stand back! — _Kiran instructed the boy._

 

Alert flags and danger alarms sprung in her mind as she closed the distance between her and Hríd. Her brain went through a quick processing stage:  
Who was the least important among them?

Glaðr, but she shook that thought aside. She was only going to count the humans.

Morgan and Kana were children, they had priority over the other two.   
Prince Hríd was royalty, and Queen Máni herself had tasked Kiran with looking after the royals.

So that left her.   
If one of them had to die, it had to be herself. But if she was going down, it wouldn’t be without a fight.

 

With newfound resolve, Kiran gripped her bow as if it were a bat and intercepted one of the wolves in the nick of time, sending it tumbling to the side. The rest seemed to recoil a little, stepping back.   
But as the alpha collected itself and stood, threatening, the pack gained confidence once again. Kiran held tight to her bow, standing directly in front of the Prince.

 

Another wolf pounced, and Kiran batted it away. As she was recovering from the strength she’d put behind the swing, however, the alpha lurched in from the side.

She barely had time to whip her head around in fear before two things happened nearly simultaneously.

 

She was yanked by the cotton cloth around her shoulders and caught by a strong arm, immediately lowering her to lay on the ground rather harshly. She curled up and her back hit the flat surface of the Prince’s blade at the same time as he rolled on top of her to shield her from the attack.

The instant they were both lying there on the ground, however, a light flashed in the direction the stallion was and something leaped over them to intercept the alpha wolf. Both of them surprised, they turned their attention to the pack as a whine of pain was heard from the biggest beast.   
Sanding between the wolves and them, however, was Kana.   
In her dragon form.

 

Perplexed, Kiran could only watch from beneath the Prince as the dragon/goat/thing stood up to the eight wolves judging whether to inch closer or not. Kana made threatening stomps on the ground, pretending to be ready to jump on the beasts at any given moment, and the wolves started growling and stepping back.    
One of them barked, and Kana roared in response

All birds in that portion of the forest flew away in panic, and the wolves recoiled, frightened. 

Kana roared one more time, to drive her point across, and the beasts turned tail and ran away as fast as they could. Morgan quickly made his way over to the dragon to keep her from pursuing them.

 

Relief and worry washed over Kiran at the exact same time.   
Two consecutive roars of that magnitude could possibly alert any wyvern riders scouring the woods from above.   
They needed to move.

 

The Prince slowly got up to a kneeling position, one hand still holding tight to the handle of the blade and breath still coming out in icy mist.   
Kiran pulled strenght out of nowhere and knelt to stand.

 

—Kana, Morgan, we need to get moving! — _Kiran called out, swallowing past her nerves and hanging her bow on her shoulder._

 

As Kana helped Morgan up on her back by tilting her head and letting him use her horns as handle (straight outta Princess Mononoke), Kiran turned her attention to the Prince.

 

—Highness, can you stand? — _she asked hurriedly._

—Yes, I… should be able to. — _he coughed. Must be the cold from the ice trick. Oh no, his voice sounded deep._

 

Kiran shook that thought aside as soon as it came and captured the Prince’s free hand, the thin layer of ice running up to his elbow melting upon contact with Kiran’s warmth. She pulled him up to his feet and, after sparing a glance to check the two kids were following, broke into a sprint in who knew what direction.   
She didn’t care right now, she only knew they had to get away.

 

She took hold of Glaðr’s reins on the way, and the steed obediently set a brisk pace at her side, Kana gliding overhead (though still beneath the trees’ canopies) with Morgan on her back. With her other hand she pulled the Prince along, who took a couple of minutes to compose himself before surpassing her and guiding them all through the woods.   
He didn’t let go of her hand the entire way.

 

They ran for what felt like hours (which in reality must've been some fifteen minutes) before they reached a bundle of pines with low hanging leaves. 

 

—We’ll stop here for the night. — _the Prince announced, taking Glaðr's reins from Kiran's hand and instructing the horse to rest. The two adults sat down to catch their breath._

—Kiran… — _Morgan mumbled, getting down from Kana's back as she de-transformed_.— I'm hungry…

—Tomorrow we'll try to hunt something to eat, alright? — _she brushed his hair, tired_.— For now…

—For now we'll rest. — _the Prince completed._

 

Morgan nodded, sleepy and understanding, and crawled under the leaves to get comfortable. Kiran handed him the blanket, Kana following suit.

The Prince didn't move from his spot next to the stallion.

 

—Highness. — _Kiran sighed_.

—Go to sleep.

—Only after you. — _Kiran crossed her arms, but lammented it immediately upon feeling her damaged wrist. She hid a wince and opted to rest them on her knees._ — You're exhausted, Highness, you need to sleep.

—But if I go to sleep, who will stand guard? — _he argued, tone serene and tired._

 

Kiran opened her mouth to counter, but another voice came before.

 

—Oh, I can sleep transformed.

 

They turned to find Kana sitting beneath the leaves next to the resting Morgan.

 

—My senses are better as a dragon, so if anything happens I can wake you guys up. — _the little girl added, apparently having gained a significant boost in both confidence and morale after her little showdown with the wolves._

—Are you sure? — _Kiran questioned, just to make sure. She actually liked the plan a lot, that meant the Prince would have no choice but to sleep from now on. However…_ — But isn't it tiring for you to mantain that form?

—Not at all! — _Kana assured with a proud smile. The gesture did wonders for Kiran's mood. Kana was smiling again!_ — It's as easy as breathing for me. I just like the human form more because it's easier to move in.

 

There was silence for a moment as the Prince seemed to ponder his options. Kiran did grasp the unspoken part about Kana's reason for sticking to human form, which was probably the fact that she lived in a human society and therefore everything was made for humans.

 

—Alright. — _the Prince conceded with a sigh._ — But please do not hesitate to wake me up of you sense anything strange.

—Will do. — _Kana nodded, and swiftly transformed back into a dragon._

 

The little girl curled up around Morgan, who in turn decided he might as well hog the entire blanket now.

The Prince sighed again.

 

—How did you and Glaðr find us? — _he asked in a low tone meant only for her, and she returned her attention to him._

—Well- — _she started, lifting one hand to touch her cheek and try to think how to explain. But she lifted her bruised wrist and poked one of the cuts, so she wasn't able to hold back a hiss of pain this time._

 

The Prince looked at her dead in the eye for a second before rummaging through the pouches attached to the stallion's saddle.

Ah- right. He had medicine.

 

Once he had retrieved what he needed, he scooted closer to her until their crossed legs were touching at the knees, and leaned forward to get a better look at her cheek.

Kiran turned her face to the side abashedly, both to facilitate his job and to not have stare into his focused, deep turquoise eyes.

Damn his good looks.

 

—How? — _he asked again, though by his tone it was more that he was asking how she got the cuts._

—Glaðr dragged me around- — _she stopped to bite down a hiss from the sting of the ointment._ — for a while. My wrist caught in his reins so I couldn't stop him and… well.

—But he stopped eventually? — _the Prince sounded confused_.— Why?

—We reached a river. It was too wide to clear in a jump and too dangerous to attempt crossing it. — _she explained, biting her lower lip a little to handle the sting on her small cuts better._

 

The Prince seemed to finish at that moment, and stared at her for a second before returning the medicine to the pouches. Kiran resisted the urge to touch her cheek, and he returned his attention to her.   
Staring straight into her eyes, he took his gloves off and offered a hand.

She was confused for a hot second before supposing he was asking for her bruised wrist. Well- she  _ had _ said it caught in the reins, so he must’ve guessed it was pretty hurt from being dragged around.

 

So she hesitantly placed her affected hand on his’, and he held it gently but firmly, the other one pushing her long sleeve out of the way to have a clear view at the damaged part.

She winced internally at the sight.

 

Her wrist and hand had ugly red marks where the reins had been tangled, the center of those marks starting to turn a sick hue of purple. Her skin was even sunken a little in those strips.

They both stared at her wrist for a moment before he moved his free hand and placed it over the bruises, his hold on her hand becoming soft and careful.   
Kiran could’ve blushed.

 

There was a soft sky-blue glow between his palms, and she started feeling cold there. Like when she would stick her hand in the fridge to try and get the grapes in a tupper at the very end of one of the cabinets.   
But then she realized what he was doing.

 

—Wait-

—It’s fine, this is nothing in comparison. — _he quickly amended, guessing what she wanted to say. Kiran decided to believe him, for her own sake more than anything. If this was truly nothing when compared to the ice blade trick from earlier, then good. He was going to sleep tonight, anyways._

—Alright… — _she relented._

 

They sat in silence for a while, knees still touching, her bruised hand between the gentle and soft hold of his own as he applied cold air to the damaged area.

 

Eventually, they went to sleep. Kiran crawled under the leaves of the tree, feeling a strange sense of nostalgia as this had been the exact same method of cover for the night she’d used when she first woke up in this realm. She snuggled up next to Morgan, Kana’s dragon form on the boy’s other side, and cocooned herself in the cotton cloth. Faintly aware of the Prince crawling in and lying to her other side, she tuned off the sound of the soft breeze and the few birds around and let herself succumb to exhaustion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for strange things happening in the enchanted woods!   
> For those of you who read my other FEH fic (Worlds) and are wondering why the Order was able to pitch tents in there and saw nothing supernatural, well it's because they had two redheads with them: Anna and Lukas.  
> Saved by the gingers lol
> 
> I'm going to be taking lots of artist liberties with any spells or things of the like that might appear in this fic. Much like Kiran, I have some friends who are into that stuff, but in all honesty I don't know much about it (even though I find it very interesting) so yeah take everything with a grain of salt.
> 
> Kana has established her dominance in these woods!
> 
> On another note, maybe I should add Sexual Tension to the tags? 'Cause the more I think about it the more I realize this fic might have lots of it lmao  
> Yes, more than Worlds currently has


	15. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran, the kids and the Prince spend another day traversing the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry it took a while to get this out lol
> 
> I hope you enjoy~

When Kiran awoke the next morning, her back felt warm.   
Very warm.

 

Confused, she groggily pushed herself up to a half seating position and looked over her shoulder.   
The Prince was there, slightly back to back with her, still sound asleep. 

Meaning the warmth had to be coming from him.

But… this noticeable? And through that many layers of clothes?   
What was he, a human radiator?

 

But, moreover, he was still asleep. Usually he was the first one up, wasn’t he? Or, well, he didn’t really sleep at all the prior nights.   
Figures he’d be tired.

 

As silently as she could, she crawled out from under the tree and stood up in their little clearing, noticing the horse was still as asleep as his master.   
Kiran stretched, taking notice of her sore muscles and her still damaged throat, even if it was way better than before.

 

It was still dark. There was no wind, no sounds, nothing.    
No birds in the distance, which was quite troubling.

 

Rustling in the tree leaves behind her prompted her to look back over her shoulder.   
The Prince was crawling out from their little den, hair an absolute mess and eyes still half closed.

 

—Morning’. — _Kiran greeted softly, trying not to stare at his bedhead._ — Did you sleep well?

—Good morning. — _he mumbled, stretching, brushing his hair in an attempt to tame it. Kiran had to look away_.— Yes, I… suppose I did.

 

No he did not.

Kiran could recognize an unrested mind a mile away, and while his body had indeed gotten some rest, his mental state hadn’t improved at all.

 

—Are you sure? — _she insisted, suspicious, but not wanting to sound rude._

 

The Prince stared at her in silence for a moment, the tiniest bit surprised.

Before he could give any meaningful answer, however, an icy breeze swept through them, sending a chill down Kiran’s spine.

 

Oh, she didn’t like that. She didn’t like that one bit. Every time a breeze like that went through her body she kept hearing voices in the distance, but… not with her ears?   
It was weird, and it was making her very nervous. The same thing had happened back at that river she’d arrived with Glaðr yesterday.

Plus, where had that wind even come from? She hadn’t heard the rustle of the leaves or anything!   
This damned forest. She couldn’t wait to get out of this place.

 

—… We need to get moving. — _mumbled the Prince, and Kiran wholeheartedly agreed to that._

—Yes, let’s. — _she nodded._

 

Kids and stallion wide awake, they set course to the northeast (according to Hríd) and began their slow but steady marching through the forest.

 

The farther they traveled from where they’d stopped for the night, the more the forest seemed to come back to life. Kiran started to hear the chirping of the birds once again, and the rustle of the leaves above them with the currents of cold air travelling over the woods.

 

—Kiran…? — _Kana mumbled, groggy, back in her human form. She jumped over an exposed root in the path._

—Yes?

—’M hungry… — _the little girl half-whined, Morgan at her side looking up at Kiran with pleading eyes that screamed “me too”._

—There should be a small lake up ahead. — _Hríd spoke up from the front of the group, holding tight to the stallion’s reins._ — We can hunt something there, it won’t be long.

 

Just as he’d said, not ten minutes afterwards they found a small pond among the trees.

Carefully, they snuck among the bushes and looked on over the water.   
There was nothing there.

 

They waited roughly fifteen minutes until a pack of deer came strolling out of the woods to the right, stopping by the pond to drink water.   
The Prince turned to Kiran.

 

—Can you shoot with those hands? — _he asked, voice a mere whisper and tone so soft and almost worried it nearly warmed Kiran enough to keep her from trembling in the cold._

 

Kiran held her bow in one hand and took a pointy stick out of her quiver, taking aim for the biggest of the pack.   
But her hands were shaking from the cold and the effort put on her bruises. What if her arrow missed and all the deer got startled and ran away?   
She couldn’t risk it.

 

She lowered her bow and arrow and faced the Prince with an apologetic and sad expression.

 

—My hands are trembling, I don’t think… — _she trailed off, voice barely above a whisper._

—No worries. — _mumbled the Prince, taking the bow and stick from her hands._

 

Silently, he pushed the stick through the bush in front of him and submerged the tip into the pond. To the rest’s surprise, when he lifted it up an arrowhead out of ice had attached itself to the pointy end.   
He pulled on the bow’s string once, experimentally, to get a feel for it. And in one swift motion shot the icy arrow straight through the side of one of the bigger dears in the pack.

 

The rest of the animals jumped, startled, and bolted through the woods and away from the pond.

 

Kana jumped, pumping a fist in the air, and ran to their meal, followed closely by Morgan.

With the help of the boy, Kiran gathered dry logs and set them by the small dirt beach of the pond, letting him light them on fire with a quick spell.

While they were busy tending to the campfire, the Prince had managed to prepare the deer for them to roast it.

 

—It’s quite big, so we should eat half of it now and save the rest for tonight or tomorrow. — _he stated, the other three nodding. He turned to Kiran_.— You said you packed salt?

—Ah- yes. — _she blinked, fishing for the condiment in her satchel._

 

Leaving the kids in charge of roasting the meat (they had set up a little turning system, so they really only had to twist the little skewers around), Kiran and the Prince proceeded to salt the leftover meat and wrap it in the biggest leaves they could find around. While no chef, Kiran supposed the salt did help preserve the meat a little. And, well, if the Prince was doing it with such conviction then it was probably something he learned during his soldier training.

 

—So you can’t freeze it because…? — _Kiran asked, slightly confused. He had ice powers, right? Why was he bothering with salting it if he could just freeze food?_

—I  _ can _ freeze it. The problem is, I can’t afford to  _ keep _ it frozen. — _Hríd calmly explained, wrapping the last portion as Kiran stored the rest away in the pouches on Glaðr’s saddle_.— It takes too much energy to do so.

—Oh- — _Kiran lamely let out, feeling dumb_.— Yeah, that makes sense.

—Hey guys, the food’s ready! — _Kana called out, a wide smile present in her voice._

—Hey! Lower your voice a little! — _Morgan whisper-yelled._

 

They ate in content silence, stomping the fire down once they had finished and pulling Glaðr away from the grass he had been eating. They took their usual seats atop the steed and continued on with their route northeast.

 

Somewhere along the way, the kids fell asleep against each other and against Kiran. She supposed it was inevitable after having had a decent meal in way too long.

 

So the two adults continued on in silence, ears peeled for their surroundings and alert to any foreign moves or sounds.

 

—Highness…? — _Kiran eventually murmured, sometime around noon._

—Yes? — _came his soft reply._

—Are there no… nocturnal animals in these woods? — _she asked, still confused as to why there had been no sounds when she woke up that morning. Maybe the forest was still asleep?_

—What makes you ask that? — _he questioned in turn, slightly concerned_.— There are owls and wolves here.

—Oh, right. — _she sighed._ — Well, it’s just that… this morning, there were no sounds of anything. So I thought maybe…

—… You noticed, too. — _he mumbled, and she wasn’t sure if that had been a question or not._

—Yes, it was a bit disconcerting. — _she nodded, even if he wouldn’t see it. Kiran returned her attention to the woods around her instead of staring into his back._

—They might- — _he began, but cut himself short as if realizing something._

 

After a second of hesitation (which prompted Kiran to give him her attention again), he shuffled a little in his seat and turned around to look at her, twisting his torso as much as he could. Glaðr stopped by a command from him.   
Then he leaned over the kids, placing one hand on the saddle right next to her thigh-   
And stopped short of resting his jaw on her shoulder so he could whisper directly to her ear.

 

—They might be closing in on us.

 

A shiver went down Kiran’s spine, but this one was different from the one this morning. This one also sent up heat to her cheeks.   
His comment, however, also scared her a little.

 

—”They”? — _she whispered back, trying not to let fear seep into her voice. Her eyes wandered through the woods around her, nervous, as if any second now she would see two dots staring back at her. The forest hadn’t gone entirely silent, but the chirping of the birds had certainly gotten quieter._

—The Neighbors are getting impatient. — _he whispered again, and Kiran caught herself subconsciously leaning closer to him_.— They don’t like humans intruding in these woods. The more time we spend here, the more they will start to follow us.

—But I thought we had two weeks before they started acting up? — _Kiran was confused and worried at the same time._

—I thought so as well. — _he sounded just as puzzled, though still serious._ — Something must be making them anxious. And if that’s the case, they must be keeping a very close eye on us.

—So you mean... during the night… — _she didn’t finish that thought._

—The longer we remain idle, the more of them gather around us. — _he confirmed._ — The less the animals will dare come near.

—But then… one of these nights they will… — _Kiran mumbled, now unable to hold back the fear from her voice._

—Most likely. — _the Prince whispered, leaning back yet still remaining close enough to her so that she could hear him. Meaning he was barely ten centimeters away from her face. The look in his eyes was fierce but… somehow slightly reassuring_.— However, we don’t really know for sure whether they wish any harm upon us or not. — _he continued_.— We can only hope they…

—… will forgive us for trespassing. — _Kiran completed, and he nodded._

 

The Prince returned to a normal seating position and directed Glaðr to continue walking.   
Kiran was left with a sensation of impending uncertainty on her, and she didn’t really know how to deal with that.

 

The kids awoke not long after the little talk, so she decided to focus on them instead of panicking over what might or might not be following them through the shadows of the trees around them.

 

—This is going to get very boring very quickly. — _Morgan sighed, leaning his head back on Kiran’s chest._

—Aren’t you already bored? — _Kana questioned, stopping for a moment as she played with the boy’s fingers. She threw her hands up in the air for added dramatic flair_.— I like trees but only if I can climb them! — _she crossed her arms, pouting._ — How long before we get out of this forest?

—Hopefully just a couple of days more. — _the Prince hummed, apparently amused with the antics going down behind him. If he was smiling, Kiran couldn’t tell with his back turned to them._

—And what after that? — _Morgan asked, allowing the little girl to continue fiddling with his hands_.— You said the neighboring… er, area, is called the Barren Lands, right? What will we even do there?

 

The Prince remained silent.

 

—...Highness? — _Kiran called, softly._

—I’m sorry, I… don’t know. — _he mumbled, ashamed. It didn’t slip past her how his hold on the reins tightened._

—What?! — _Kana whisper-yelled_.— But you said you had a plan!

—Yes, well, I do. — _he sighed._ — It’s just I don’t… I’m not sure if it’s possible with… er…

—What, ‘cause you’ve got us kids to look after? — _Kana insisted. Kiran was forced to reconsider the age she’d mentally given the girl. How old was she, again?_ — I can turn into a dragon, remember? A big, scary dragon!

—Yeah, and I can use fire magic! — _Morgan chimed in, defiant_.— My mom is the Tactician Magician of Ylisse, I’ll have you know! I’m no pushover!

—Yes, but-! — _Hríd attempted to argue_.— Look, my plan was to go into Múspell and take down the King. One man on his own might be able to sneak in. — _he explained_.— Alright, two adults could to it as well. But we’re four, and this is no simple task I’m talking about. 

—Highness, you might be overestimating me a little… — _Kiran mumbled, surprised to learn he had somehow concluded the two of them on their own could make it._

—We might not have enough food to go on, and it’s high likely we’ll get chased by Muspellian soldiers day and night. — _the Prince continued on, stern yet worried, either not having heard Kiran or ignoring her_.— I’m- I’m not confident enough in my own abilities to take the two of you into such a thing. We can take cover in the Barren Lands and wait for one of my sisters to bring Askran reinforcements to deal with this issue.

—And wait around with our arms crossed? — _Kana complained_.

—I agree with Kana, Prince; your plan is the best thing we can do right now to help out! — _Morgan convened_.— If we take down Múspell’s King, this was is as good as over!

—Great! Then you two can stay at the Barren Lands with Miss Kiran while I go to Múspell and see this disaster over. — _the Prince stated._

—Oh no, I’m going to have to stop you right there! — _Kiran intervened, not liking where this was going._ — Highness, your mother made me promise her something the day the capital was sieged, and I plan to stick to that promise. I can’t let you go on your own to Múspell in… in this suicide mission. You’re not getting rid of me this easily.

—Right! And since Kiran is coming along, that means us two have to go as well! — _Morgan nodded, jumping on the opportunity she had accidentally set up for further argument._ — Because we can’t stay on our own in unknown territory, now can we?

—So it’s decided! — _Kana nearly stood up on the saddle, Kiran having to keep her seated by the shoulders_.— We’re all going to Múspell to kick a King’s butt!

 

Both kids exchanged high-fives and mischievous grins as the Prince’s shoulders sagged and he let out a tired sigh.

 

—Just don’t tell me I didn’t warn you… — _he mumbled, defeated._

 

Kiran wasn’t really sure what had just happened, and she could only worry thinking about whether that was the best course of action they could’ve taken or not.

Well- to go into enemy territory? With a useless archer and two kids?   
Oh, this was going to be such a royal trainwreck. She didn’t like it one bit, but the only other alternatives seemed to be waiting for who knew how long for the conflict to solve itself or… the Prince going on his own.   
Which wasn’t going to happen if she had any say in the matter.

 

Come nighttime, they managed to find another pine low enough to use its leaves as cover, just like they’d done the night before. 

With the Prince’s guidance on which were edible and which were not, they gathered berries from some bushes they luckily came across and decided to save the meat they had from the morning for tomorrow’s meal.

So they set up a small campfire and sat around, eating berries in silence.

 

Kiran dedicated herself to craving pointy sticks out of the logs that were too damp with snow to use as firewood. The berries were… well, nothing too interesting. They tasted like a mildly sweet, not-yet-ripe strawberry; but oh well.   
It could’ve been worse.

 

Kana was hogging most of the berries with her, her excuse being she ate a lot because, well, she was half dragon; while Morgan was distracting himself by making small swirls of flames from the campfire.

The Prince, meanwhile, hadn’t taken his eyes off of her Swiss Army knife since she started craving more, uh, pseudo-arrows.

 

He didn’t talk until she met his gaze, slightly abashed by the constant attention, with an expression that read “I know you’re staring, what is it?”.

 

—Is that… a knife? — _he questioned, and Kiran nodded_.— That small?

—It’s a knife that was developed for soldiers as more of a utility artifact. — _she explained, pulling out the small scissors from their compartment_.— It has a lot of things in it, like scissors.

—So it just… folds on itself? — _the Prince quirked a brow, intrigued._

—Yeah, an all-in-one. — _she mused, going back to craving sticks._

 

The Prince let out a noise of intrigue, returning his attention to the flames.

It wasn’t long before the kids had fallen asleep. By then, Kiran had racked up to ten pointy sticks, so she proudly stashed them away in her quiver.   
That put her total up to a dozen.

 

With Kana in her dragon form curled around a Morgan burrito’ed with Kiran’s blanket, the two adults remained outside of the little den for a while longer.   
Why? Kiran had no idea what compelled her to stay up longer than the kids, even if it was for only a couple of minutes. Maybe it was the sense that, well, they were the  _ adults _ here, they were supposed to be the ones who went to sleep last.   
Who knew. Even the horse had already made himself comfortable as some sort of wall just outside the little den.

 

Still, this little time alone with the Prince meant she could gather up the courage to ask the  _ very awkward _ question she’d been meaning to ask since the morning.   
Well, there went nothing.

 

—Uh- Highness?

—Yes?

—I’m, uh, I’m sorry for asking this, but… — _she began. The moment his eyes fell on her with curiosity, Kiran was no longer able to take the embarrassment. So she looked down at the ground_.— Could you…? Um, sleep closer to me tonight…?

 

There was silence for a moment.

 

—...What? — _came his question, blank and devoid of all signs that could tell her whether he was uncomfortable, amused, or disgusted. He just sounded… taken by surprise._

—Your back! — _she was quick to blurt out, facepalming, then finally getting herself to look him in the eye._ — Please press your back to mine tonight. You’re like a human radiator and I could very much use the warmth to sleep.

—I’m like a what? — _he repeated, now wholly confused._

—A, uh, a warmth provider? — _she tried_.

—That’s not what you said. — _he insisted. Guess she wasn’t getting out of this one without an explanation._

—No, well, but it’s what I meant! — _Kiran would’ve whined if she didn’t have a need to keep her voice down_.— A radiator is an artifact in my realm that people keep in various rooms in their houses. Because it, uh, gives off warmth better than a fireplace. — _she explained, and scattered to add something else at the sight of his brow furrowing, for some reason._ — And it turns out you exude a lot of it. You’re very warm when you sleep, even through all those layers of clothes. So I, uh…

—I’m… warm? — _he mumbled, apparently not having expected that, looking down at his gloved hands as if he could find the answers there. Kiran was way too embarrassed of the whole conversation to properly stop and question why he was so surprised of that fact._

—Yes! Very! So I was wondering if you’d share some of that warmth with me? Just pressing your back to mine should be enough. — _she could’ve sighed in relief when she realized her point had gotten across without misinterpretations._ — I-I-If you don’t mind, that is.

—Don’t worry, I… don’t mind. — _the Prince murmured, still looking at his hands in some sort of pensive trance._

 

Kiran decided not to question, letting out a relieved “thank you.”

 

So when, as she had already curled up in her cotton cloth near Morgan, she heard the Prince crawl under the leaves she couldn’t help but hold her breath.   
Just as she’d asked, he lied down and scooted closer to her to a point where their backs were pressed against each other.

And while she obviously didn’t feel any warmer immediately; there was something else she felt in that moment that she wasn’t quite sure what it was.

For now, she decided she felt safe, knowing he was right there behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kana has gained an incredible boost to her confidence ever since she asserted her dominance over the wolves lol  
> The kids are getting along with Hríd;;;
> 
> Also, cookies for anyone who can guess what is it that's bothering the Neighbors of the woods! I haven't dropped any hints yet but I think, considering what we know of the group, that a far-fetched guess can be made by this point~
> 
> Anyways, thank you so much for reading and I hope you liked this chapter!!


	16. Visitors of the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran, the kids and the Prince are intercepted by something in the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyy hello!   
> The chapters seem to be getting longer lol  
> I hope you enjoy this one!

It took all of Kiran’s self control not to snuggle next to her source of heat come morning.   
Because, well; that was the Prince behind her and she sure as hell wasn’t going to attempt anything for as… tempting as that was.

 

So, instead, she crawled out of the little den under the pine leaves to stretch a little.   
Except she stopped dead in her tracks the moment she set foot on the ground outside their sleeping area.   
Kiran stood frozen, half crouching up to a standing position, one hand pushing some leaves out of the way.

 

She was certain she’d seen it. Or had she?   
The instant she’d emerged from the den, there had been movement in her field of vision. But at the same time, there hadn’t. It was as if the environment had shifted around her and expanded back to normal after having been compressed around them during the night, and yet at the same time…   
It hadn’t happened  _ all _ around her. Only in some spots. Behind the bushes to their flanks and among the trees far to the front.   
As if something had scurried away upon her appearing in the tiny clearing they’d found.

 

And then, she breathed. Deeply. Quick, deep breaths, as if she’d stopped taking in air for a moment there. As if her chest had been compressed along with the area around them, and had only opened up a moment after she’d left the den.   
What…?

 

Alarmed and, quite frankly, scared; she retreated back inside with the others. She covered her mouth to keep her unsteady breathing silent, and spared a glance at the kids.   
Kana was still sound asleep. So had she not felt anything? Was Kiran just… seeing things?   
No, no she was pretty sure there had been something out there just now!

 

Dead silent, she sat still in her spot over the leaves. Her heart was beating loudly in her ears, her breathing trying to normalize itself with deep intakes of cold air.   
There was no other sound apart from her respiration and the others’ sleepy own. No birds. No animals. Nothing.   
The woods were as dead silent as she was.

 

That is, until the Prince at her side shuffled awake, the sight of his bedhead somehow calming her down a little.

He sat up in silence for a bit, as if properly waking up. Then he turned around to see if the others were alright, his gaze going from the kids to her.   
He blinked for a second before his mind seemed to register her concerned and scared expression.

 

—Did something happen? — _the Prince whispered, worried and alarmed, his brow furrowing and eyes locking on to hers._

 

Kiran took a steadying breath and lowered her hand so it wasn’t covering her mouth anymore.   
She looked down.

 

—I… I think I saw them. — _she whispered, unsure._ — The… neighbors.

 

All of a sudden, the Prince pushed himself right in front of her and captured her shoulders, his gaze scrutinizing her eyes with so much intensity Kiran was nearly scared for a second time that day.

Whatever he found (or didn’t), it seemed to relieve him a little, for he sat back to put a more decent distance between each other.   
He let go of her shoulders.

 

—Are you certain? — _he murmured, dead serious_.— Did you  _ see _ them?

 

The way he accentuated the “seeing” part made Kiran doubt herself.   
Well… had she  _ seen _ them? Had she truly seen anything?

 

—W-Well… — _she mumbled, thinking on how to explain it._ — I’m… not sure. I- I saw- or, rather, I felt something quickly scurry away and… I don’t know what it was but I saw a weird shift in the area around me before it all just… passed.

 

The Prince let out a soft, nearly silent sigh of tiredness which didn’t tell Kiran whether what she’d said was good or bad at all. He looked around the den, his attention also falling on the still sleeping Kana.   
None said a word for a moment.

 

—The woods are silent. — _he eventually mumbled._

—So… that thing just now… — _she asked, nervous for what the answer could be._

—It was them. — _he returned his attention to her, staring straight into her soul. It made her even more nervous_.— You were lucky you didn’t see anything.

—What…? — _Kiran breathed out, now downright creeped out. Had she just dodged a big one?_

—They don’t like to be seen unless they present themselves. — _he explained, voice but a whisper_.— There’s stories of people who lose their eyes overtime after accidentally catching a glimpse or, even worse, spying on them.

 

Kiran gulped.   
What a way to start her day. 

 

The kids woke up right around that time, and after everyone had stretched they set off to wherever the Prince pointed.

 

Trekking through the forest seemed to be something the kids enjoyed more than mounting the horse. Kiran supposed it was because it gave them the distraction of jumping around and exercising, so she couldn’t really stop them as they ran around her, the stallion and the Prince while they advanced.   
As the morning went on, they started hearing the sounds of birds and insects again, which helped Kiran calm down considerably.

 

It was 12:15 (she checked on her phone) at noon when they stopped by a small stream to have… uh, lunch? Breakfast?   
To eat.

 

With Morgan and the Prince setting up the campfire and skewers for the leftover deer meat of the day prior, Kiran and Kana wandered around the area in search of berries.

 

—Look, Kiran! — _the little girl’s voice made her shift her attention from the bush in front of her, a grin present in her voice._

—What is it? — _she asked, relaxed by the activity, popping one of the berries into her mouth. These were sweeter than the other ones, which sat better in Kiran’s book._

—Up there! — _Kana insisted with a bright smile, and Kiran followed her finger pointing up a tree._

 

There was an owl perched on one of the branches, its feathers a mixture of light brown, sand, and wood colors.   
It was beautiful. Kiran hadn’t had many chances in her life to see owls, so she gaped up at the creature for a moment before her brain propped a question.   
What was it doing there at that time of the day?   
Weren’t owls nocturnal creatures?

 

—I thought owls slept during the day, though. — _the little girl chirped, taking a hold of Kiran’s hand and absentmindedly swinging it back and forth._

—...I think they’re active during noon sometimes, too. — _Kiran commented, more to try and convince herself. All previous relaxation was slowly drifting away from her body._

 

The owl rotated its head 270 degrees to one side before doing a complete 360 in the opposite direction, returning its attention to the two of them.   
Kana let out a gleeful yelp of surprise, amazed by the creature.

 

—I think it likes you! — _the little girl exclaimed, turning to Kiran, still swinging their joined hands together._ — It keeps staring at you!

—I think it wants some berries. — _Kiran chuckled, hiding her nervousness. Yeah, alright, that owl’s continuous staring was creeping her out. In any other situation she would’ve been amazed, but with what was happening in those woods… Every little odd thing put her on edge._

—You think so? — _Kana beamed, her attention returning to the bird_.— Maybe it does! Let’s give it some, we have plenty!

 

Kiran wanted to slap herself for running herself into a corner like that.   
But she couldn’t disappoint Kana, and that gleeful smile was pulling at her heartstrings mercilessly.

 

So she let go of her hand and took one of the berries on her other hand, extending it up towards the creature.

 

The owl tilted its head to the side, apparently curious, before flying down and perching itself on her dominant arm holding the berry.   
Kiran tried not to let anything change her neutral/amazed expression, even if the bird turned out to be more heavy than what she’d expected and one of its talons was digging into her wrist, the other luckily having landed on her leather protector.

Kana gaped up at her, and she spared her a small glance with a little smile.

 

The bird, meanwhile, extended its neck to inspect her face curiously.   
As she was face to face with those endless pits of darkness that were its eyes, however, Kiran couldn’t help the chill that ran down her spine.

 

The owl hooted, apparently deeming her trustworthy enough, and took the berry before flying away into the woods.

 

—Aw, that was so cool! — _Kana exclaimed, pumping her fists into the air. Kiran managed out a chuckle._

—Let’s get back to the other two. — _she smiled down to the little girl, running on her momentary relief of the owl having left._

 

Back at the campfire, both Morgan and the Prince were waiting for them with crossed arms and disappointed looks.

 

—What took you so long? — _the boy questioned._

—We found an owl! — _Kana was unfaced by the staring, bounding up to them with a gigantic grin plastered over her face._ — Kiran fed it a berry!

—W-What?! — _Morgan’s disappointed facade crumbled immediately_.— No way! — _he looked up at Kiran_.— Did you really?

—Yeah, it was… looking at us from a tree. — _she smiled softly, glancing sideways at the Prince. Hríd quirked a brow, either unconvinced or confused. Probably the latter, considering owls are nocturnal hunters._

 

They shared the berries and ate the roasted meat as Kana dragged on about the bird they just encountered. While the kids were discussing that, Kiran extended her dominant hand towards the Prince, who gave her a confused look yet again.

 

—One of its talons dug into my wrist. — _she explained, sheepishly. For some reason getting hurt made feel guilty, like she was somehow disappointing him._

 

The Prince let out a soft sound of comprehension, his confused expression disappearing and being replaced by a tender blank look as he took his gloves off and examined her wrist carefully.   
His fingertips were very much cold.

 

He fetched the medicine from Glaðr’s saddle, the kids’ conversation having somehow shifted to butterflies, and busied himself with treating her small wound. The owl’s claws had left four indents in her skin, three on one side and a lone one on the other, all of them drawing a bit of blood.

While he worked on gently applying the stingy stuff, she distracted herself with examining her own wrist. The markings left by the reins were almost healed, now only present as faint red stripes across her skin.

As she watched, she couldn’t help but just now notice how pale his fingers were. Or his hands in general. Just to check, she spared a glance up at his concentrated expression and then back at his hands.   
They were much paler than the rest of his skin.

 

Without really thinking it through, she reached for the hem of one of his sleeves and softly pulled up so she could see inside to where his skin color changed. Maybe he was this naturally pale and his face was just sunburnt? Oh, but his fingers were  _ too _ pale to be normal.   
Almost like they were frozen over-

 

She blinked back to reality when she realized he’d stopped midway in what he was doing, and there was silence around them. 

Feeling extremely self conscious and embarrassed, she looked around only to find the kids were staring at them and he was giving her a deadpan blank look of “what are you doing?”.

 

—I, uh, sorry. — _she managed to get out, letting go of his sleeve and returning her free hand to rest on her lap._ — I was just wondering why your hand is so pale… and…

 

There was silence for a beat.

 

—Ahh… — _he hummed, returning his attention to her wrist. All eyes were on him, expecting him to say something else, as he wrapped up her treated little woulds in soft bandages. Once he was done, he started lifting his own sleeves up past his elbows._ — That’s because of my blade, Gjöll.

—Because of your sword…? — _Morgan was confused._

 

When the Prince finished rolling up his sleeves, he extended both arms towards Kiran, palms up, and the kids crawled over to have a look.

Running up from his fingertips to barely above his wrist was a pale white haze, which broke down like ice the further up it went. It looked like his skin was, as she’d thought, frozen over; but upon further inspection it turned out that his skin was just like that.   
But it was because of his sword?

 

Kana and Morgan both took one hand to feel it, and Kiran did the same with the other, although a bit nervous. 

Despite, or maybe due to, the seemingly frozen over skin, his hand was very soft. She held it with both her own, brushing her thumbs gently over his knuckles, taking in the coldness of his digits contrasting against her warm palms. There were tiny, minuscule scars crossing through the back of his hand and his fingers, probably remains from his training days considering he now wore gloves.   
Oh, but those scars were so beautiful! They looked like cracks on a frozen lake, fissures in an iceberg’s surface; the inner parts so pale they bordered on bluish tones.

And the part where the frozen area ended! Where the pale icy skin appeared to shatter into a million pieces to give way to his normal skin.   
The shards even had the same pattern as frozen surfaces! She wouldn’t be surprised at all if she could distinguish snowflakes in there if she looked closer.

 

—But I don’t get it. — _Morgan’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts, causing Kiran to blink. Oh no, how long had she been caressing his hand?! She looked up at the Prince and released him, nervous and apologetic, only to find he also seemed to have been snapped out of some trance by the boy’s voice. He pried his slightly surprised eyes from where he’d been looking at hers, and turned his attention to Morgan_.— Why would using a sword cause something like this?

—Does it hurt? — _Kana asked._

—No, it doesn’t. — _the Prince shook his head no, then smiled softly at the boy_.— Using any other sword wouldn’t normally cause this, you’re right. — _his gaze fell back on his hands, his smile turning melancholic_.— This is the prize to pay for wielding Gjöll.

—What?! That’s dumb. — _Kana crossed her arms over her chest, pouting._ — Using swords is already hard, why would you have to pay a price?

—Gjöll isn’t like other swords. — _a small chuckle left him, and Kiran just took the sound in. Shit, it was lovely_.— It possesses immense power. And to make use of that power, I must give something in return.

—So you mean- — _Morgan began, but he seemed to remember something_.— Oh! That’s right, my mother has something similar on her hands.

—She does? — _Kiran quirked a brow._

—Yeah, thunder markings. — _the boy nodded_.— They’re barely visible, but apparently they appeared after using a Levin sword for too long.

—A… what sword? — _Kiran tried to repeat, confused. Why would a sword produce thunder markings? Well, actually, nevermind. Gjöll froze the Prince’s hands, why was she even asking._

—A Levin sword, a magic sword capable of harnessing the power of thunders, right? — _the Prince asked, and Morgan nodded with a smile._ — I’ve heard of it in tales, but I didn’t think it actually existed.

—Well, yeah, my mom can use it. — _the boy smiled, proud._

 

They put out the campfire and mounted Glaðr, the kids not taking long to falling asleep.   
Kiran was starting to sense a pattern there, but she thought it was better than having them bored out of their minds.   
Plus, it gave her a window of time to ask the Prince things that… it was probably best they didn’t listen in on.

 

—Highness?

—Yes?

—What exactly happened in these woods? — _she asked, softly, nervously scanning their surroundings. He hadn’t told her yet, but she had the feeling it was something bad_.— For the… um, for  _ them _ to be getting so impatient so quickly for only the four of us…

 

The Prince didn’t respond at first, but she waited patiently. She could still hear the chirping of the brids nearby, which was good.

 

—I don’t think we should speak of this in here. — _he eventually mumbled._ — Once we’re out, I promise I will tell you the story.

—… — _Kiran considered that. Yeah, that was… probably for the best, to be honest_.— Alright.

 

Come night time, they stopped by the feet of an old hollow tree with a crack to the side big enough for them to crawl inside and use as cover for the night. The canopies of the trees surrounding it covered the hole of the top, so it seemed like the best refuge they would find at that point.

 

They set up a campfire and sat around it to eat berries, before deciding to retire for the night early. According to the Prince, if they made haste they should be able to leave the forest by tomorrow noon.

So they arranged a little leaf hut for Glaðr and crawled inside the tree to sleep. Once again, the Prince scooted closer to Kiran until their backs were pressed to each other, Kana was curled around Morgan in her dragon form, and the boy was cocooned in Kiran’s blanket.

 

It was sometime after midnight that Kiran awoke to the sound of something scratching against the wood of the tree trunk.

Groggily at first, she shuffled slightly in her very warm spot next to the Prince and opened her eyes.

 

Kiran would’ve yelped in shock had a hand not covered her mouth immediately.

 

Her brain was rushing as she reached for the hand on her face, all the while staring at…   
At…    
What- What  _ was _ that?!

 

—Shhh, it’s me, stay calm. — _the Prince’s murmured voice came from right behind her, his lips nearly pressed against the back of her head, sending a chill down her spine that didn’t really help the situation much._

 

But his smooth voice did manage to get her to stop fumbling with his hand.  
And now that she thought about it, his other arm was wrapped around her middle section.   
She was basically being spooned.

 

That little detail would’ve caused a completely different reaction if the situation was anything but what it was now. The only thing her brain thought would be best to do was press her back flush against his chest, as far back as she could go.   
Anything to get farther away from the… thing, standing atop Kana’s dragon form, her tail frantically shifting on the other side of the hollow of the trunk.

Which was the thing that had been scraping against the wood. The little girl was awake but dead still, only her tail conveying the utter confusion and fear she had to be feeling at the moment.   
Morgan remained asleep, and they were all trying to keep him that way if Kana’s wing laying over him to keep him safe was anything to go by.

 

Kiran didn’t know what it was, the thing standing on Kana. She could barely see it, actually. If she shifted a millimeter in her place, its figure distorted and shifted around. Whatever it was, it emitted light. A strange, otherworldly turquoise-greenish light that filled the hollow of the trunk in its entirety, casting heavy shadows on anything else. Kiran wasn’t sure if it had eyes, or a face, for that matter, but the silhouette under what she assumed was the head (though that was also a far stretch) almost made it look like it had a triangular shape as upper… body? and the rest were but two sticks that barely made contact with the dragon’s scales it was standing on.   
It was also small, no bigger than Kiran’s forearm.

 

After examining the situation for a couple of seconds, Kiran managed to get herself to breathe more normally, one hand reaching to squeeze the Prince’s own on her stomach in an attempt to convey to him that she wouldn’t scream now.   
He seemed to get the message, his gloved hand letting go of her face and wrapping his arm protectively around her shoulders instead.

 

—H-Highness, what…? — _she breathed out, barely above a whisper, her hands coming to hold his recently relocated arm for a lack of something better to do with them. Her gaze stayed fixed to the thing atop Kana._

—It’s a Neighbor. — _he murmured into her hair._ — They’re here.

 

Kiran had figured, somehow, through her panic-riddled brain of a second ago; but it still made her shiver to have him state it so seriously.

 

—A-A-Alright… — _Kiran swallowed, trying to calm down. For as much as she’d been scared out of her skin to wake up to such an unexpected thing, it wasn’t really doing anything to them. And it didn’t really have a creepy appearance, it was just… not anything she’d ever seen before._ — So… what now?

—I’m afraid I don’t know that. — _he whispered still, probably looking at the thing from over Kiran’s head_.— I woke up to Kana poking me with her tail, that wasn’t much long ago.

 

Kiran hummed pensively to that, probably more high-pitched than what she intended due to her nerves still being on alert mode.

Well, it wasn’t doing anything to them other than creep them out and confuse them. But it had to want  _ something _ , otherwise it wouldn’t have bothered coming inside the tree at all.   
Maybe they could just… ask?

 

—Uhm… hello. — _Kiran waved one of her hands lamely. The thing wasn’t faced._

—We’re sorry to have stayed here for so long. — _the Prince backed her up, voice a lot more decisive and confident than hers_.— We will be leaving tomorrow before the sun sets, we didn’t mean offense.

 

To that, a weird sound came from where the neighbor was at, though nothing about it changed. It sounded like a corrupted voice file from an old flash game, but with a very non-digital echo to it and a strange backdrop of… bug sounds?   
What?

 

It didn’t last long, and whatever it said none of them was able to understand it. The neighbor then jumped back and phased through the trunk of the tree, to the outside.

Kana immediately transformed back into a human and jumped over Morgan.

 

Kiran had to sit up to catch her as the little girl threw herself to her arms, the Prince also rising to a seating position.

 

—That was sooooo weird! — _Kana whisper yelled, making a show of shivering against Kiran. She was relieved to at least discover she hadn’t been scared to the point of crying, and more just utterly weirded out by the whole ordeal._

—You did a great job there, Kana. — _the Prince commended, and Kiran was once again hit with the realization that he was close. Very close behind her._

—Now stay here and mount guard, alright? — _Kiran mused, prying the girl away from her._ — His Highness and I are going to see what did… that want.

—Take care! — _Kana nodded, determined_.

 

Both adults gave her the best reassuring smiles they could muster before crawling out of the hollowed trunk, the Prince at the lead.    
Kiran was faintly aware of the sound of Kana transforming as they left, the view of what was outside taking over her thoughts for a moment.

 

They took a few steps away from the trunk, Kiran reaching for his hand without realizing. Only did she notice she’d done it when he squeezed back, standing protectively close to her.

 

In front of them stood a thousand more of those luminescent beings like the neighbor from earlier, some with different shapes and sizes. Some were even tinier, some were hovering in the air with no apparent legs on their shapes; some were but lanky sticks double the Prince’s height looming over the rest.   
Now,  _ now _ Kiran was slightly creeped out. 

Even more so considering a constant murmur of the same corrupted voice file from earlier erupted among them the second they left the tree, as if they were murmuring to each other.

 

Kiran couldn’t help the tiny step she took to the Prince’s side, trying to stand slightly behind him.

 

—We’re sorry we intruded in your forest, truly. — _Prince Hríd stated once again, this time his voice loud and clear to be heard over the endless murmur._ — We will be leaving before the sun sets tomorrow, so please; let us pass through.

 

The murmur grew in tone, and Kiran somehow managed to not hide behind the Prince.   
She didn’t know what were they saying, but she didn’t like it one bit for some reason. There was something to it she couldn’t put her finger to but she would be damned if she didn’t know how unnerving it was.

 

All the sounds stopped when one of the floating neighbors hovered closer to the two adults.

 

“ _ The Wandering Soul. _ ”

 

Both Kiran and the Prince gasped at that, though their level of surprise was very much different.   
For once, the Prince seemed to get over the fact that one of them could speak their language pretty quickly.

 

—What…? — _he managed to get out._

 

“ _ The Reborn. The Wandering Soul. _ ” Echoed through the circle the neighbors had created around them. “ _ It belongs with us. Give it to us. _ ”

 

—I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about. — _the Prince shook his head no, clearly concerned as to what was going on._

 

Little legless floating neighbors made their way over to Kiran, hovering around her and the Prince like fireflies.

 

“ _ The Saved. The Saved. _ ” Came from them, the pitch of their strange voices much higher than the one hovering imposing in front of them. “ _ It’s arrived, it’s arrived. It’s been brought by the Key. _ ”

 

—Wait… — _Kiran mumbled, returning her attention to the one in the front. Prince Hríd spared her a confused gaze_.— You don’t mean…

 

_ “It belongs with us. It belongs to our deathless realm. _ ” The main one spoke again, and the murmur surrounding them rose once more, although fainter. “ _ Give us the Wandering Soul. Give us the Reborn. _ ”

“ _ Our Saved, our Saved! _ ” The little ones chirped, apparently happy if their pitch of voice was anything to go by. “ _ It’s finally come to us! _ ”

 

—No, hold on, I didn’t…! — _Kiran attempted to argue, uncertain. Everything she’d supposed and assumed since she met the Queen started to tremble_.— I didn’t…

 

Had she truly been brought there by the Great Hero, or had she accidentally ended up there after dying in her world?   
Was this the afterlife, after all? Or… maybe the Great Hero had brought her there  _ because _ she’d died.   
So was she really… dead?

If that was the case, then what would it be of her? She couldn’t die again, could she? Would she just wander this new world for eternity because of a mistake or because someone decided to bring her there?   
She didn’t… she didn’t want to live forever! But maybe it was the only way? What would happen to her if she decided she didn’t want to be there? Maybe rolling with the fact she’d been given a seemingly eternal life was the only way to get Morgan and Kana back to their homes and see Nifl restored.   
Maybe this whole ordeal was punishment.    
If that was the case then man, life sure had a sick sense of humor.

 

—Oh, that’s just cruel… — _she mumbled eventually._

—What do you mean? — _Prince Hríd at her side asked, between concerned and confused with what was happening_.— Do you know what they’re talking about?

—Highness, remember what I told Her Majesty back at the castle? — _she turned to look at him, suddenly feeling very tired. Oh, if she was correct, then she was not ready at all to live for eternity._ — I was shot before arriving here. I died, Highness. I’m supposed to be dead.

 

The Prince stared at her in stunned silence as the little neighbors circled around them playfully.   
There was a moment where they just looked at each other, before he frowned.

 

—What does that have to do with anything? — _he questioned, and Kiran blinked._

—What? — _she sputtered, dumbstruck. That was the last thing she’d expected him to say to that._

—Whether you died or not, that doesn’t matter. — _he insisted_.— For whatever reason, you’re alive here. That’s the important thing. — _he then turned to the neighbors_.— I’m sorry, but I’m afraid she stays with us.

 

The murmur rose in an offended tone, and Kiran shook away from her shock.   
Yeah… yeah, he was right.

She was alive there, wasn’t she? 

 

“ _ The Key brought the Wandering Soul to this realm back from death _ .” The main one insisted. “ _ For what reason if not to join us? What place does the Reborn have in a mortal world like yours? _ ”

 

—You don’t truly know why she was brought here in the first place! — _the Prince argued_.— You don’t know if she was brought to stay at your realm. You will only know if you ask the Great Hero.

 

“ _ The one who holds the Key is not within our confines. _ ” The neighbor replied.

 

—Then too bad. — _Kiran took a step forward, determined_.— Until we find out why the Great Hero decided to save me, I’m staying with them. — _she let go of his hand to cross her arms over her chest in a defiant manner._ — And that’s final.

 

“ _ You would choose mortality over eternal life? _ ” The neighbor insisted, apparently annoyed. She didn’t like the pitch of its voice, but she wasn’t backing down now.

 

—Anytime! — _Kiran stood her ground._

 

There was something akin to sputtering that came from the neighbor before it seemed to turn around and hover back to the group.

Around them, all luminescent things that had been murmuring up until that point also turned away, as if disappointed, and disappeared into the woods.

 

“ _ Leave before sundown _ .” Echoed in the distance as a final warning.

 

Silence fell upon them for a moment.   
Then, Kiran’s legs buckled.

 

—Miss Kiran! — _the Prince was quick to catch her, lowering her carefully to the grass and kneeling to her side._ — Are you alright?

—Yeah, I’m- just a little shaken, is all. — _she breathed out, trying to relax. She certainly hadn’t expected her first encounter with the paranormal to go down like this._ — Thank you for standing up to me.

—Humans don’t have a good track record when it comes to Neighbors. — _he murmured, looking around the dark woods. The faint cooing of a distant owl relaxed them both significantly._

—I figured. — _Kiran let out a small chuckle._

 

The rest of the night went by with no problems.

Come morning, Kiran laid on her side with her back against the Prince’s, pondering the events of last night.

 

She was probably not dead. Or at least, not in this realm. Meaning she could still die, which was more of a relief rather than a worry.   
What confused her was the elephant in the room.

Why had the Great Hero saved her? Why  _ her _ , of all people that were dying in the world at the same time? Did the Great Hero know her? Did she know them?   
Maybe the Great Hero was one of the people that had been in the bus when it got mugged. Maybe she’d been saved because she’d been the only one to get shot at that moment, and when the Great Hero arrived in this realm they decided to give her a second chance.

But why? She hadn’t done anything to deserve it. Everyone got one chance at life and she’d wasted hers.   
Why would the Great Hero think of her when arriving in this place? She hadn’t known anyone in that bus.

Or was the Great Hero someone close to her, and upon arriving decided they could just revive her?    
No, not likely.

 

So it had to be someone from the bus.

 

With one hand ghosting over where the bullet scar was at, Kiran closed her eyes and tried to picture the passengers in her mind.

 

The conductor was an old man, she remembered that clearly. She’d sat down next to a sleeping business woman, and there had been a mother with her two daughters sitting at the back (she remembered them because the girls were playing loudly, making it kind of impossible not to notice them). The first four rows had been full of people, that she did recall. She remembered a pair of white headphones that caught the lights of the street on a guy, and a very neon pink purse on some woman sitting by a window. There had been some two more empty seats, but all next to men, so she’d opted for the one next to the sleeping business woman.   
Aside from that, she vaguely recalled one of the empty seats was next to a guy with thick-rimmed glasses writing on a notebook (she remembered questioning briefly how he could write with what little light the left side windows provided), and the other was next to someone who looked like a construction worker if the outfit and safety helmet were anything to go by.

But nothing else.

 

And how _could_ she remember? All that she’d just went through were mere glimpses and flashes in her memory, she wasn’t even sure of half those details.   
The Great Hero could literally be any of them!

 

Yet, the question remained: why had they saved her? Kiran remembered the five men getting into the bus, and then…   
From then it was all a blur. She got up from her seat, for some reason, and that’s when she got shot. She vaguely remembered the screams of the girls on the back row, and of the ruckus of the bus around her as she fell on her back.   
Then it went white and she was suddenly in the snow.

 

There was no reason for any of the passengers to decide to revive her upon arriving in this realm! Pity, maybe? Well, to be fair, it was somewhat plausible that they thought of her, considering she’d just died.   
But that was assuming she’d been the  _ only one _ to die.   
And that still didn’t explain why Morgan and Kana were there when she woke up.

 

The Prince shaking her “awake” by the shoulder kicked her out of her train of thoughts.

 

—We must make haste if we want to get out of here before sundown. — _he stated._

 

It took some explaining, but eventually they managed to convey to the kids all that had happened the previous night.

Morgan needed the most context, having slept through it all, but he was a smart one so he quickly caught up.

 

—So if we don't hurry that means they'll come back to take Kiran with them? — _the boy asked, concerned._

—They can't force anyone into their realm, so I think it's more likely they well trap us in here. — _the Prince pondered, marching ahead of the group with the stallion at his side._

—Trap us? For how long? — _Kana asked, jumping over a root on the way._

—...Let’s not find out, shall we? — _the Prince gave the kids a short apologetic smile before focusing on the path ahead._

 

So forever, basically.   
Yeah, Kiran didn’t want to “find out” either.

 

They spent most of the morning walking at a very brisk pace, pushing past the thicket of the woods and making a single stop to eat yet more berries

 

The forest was very lively. There were birds chirping around them and the occasional hussle of the bushes as some critter passed by.   
Meaning the Neighbors had stopped following them.

 

It was a little times past four in the evening when the trees spread out and they exited to a mountainside.   
They had reached a valley.

 

—Are we… — _Morgan began_.— Out?

—We’re out of Mímameiðr’s Forest, yes. — _the Prince nodded._

 

Kiran looked around them.

Past the mountains to their left was a vast meadow with various species of trees sprinkled here and there, and another set of lush green mountains far in the distance to the east.   
Beyond that, there seemed to be the beginning of a tropical rainforest. Well, she did suppose they were headed north, so it was only normal they would find more vegetation the further up they went.

 

—Let’s go, we should be able to take cover in one of the cave systems nearby. — _the Prince announced._ — By tomorrow we will cross the Frontier Bridge and enter the Barren Lands.

 

Kiran took a deep breath in. If the Prince was correct, then out of Nifl they should be in safer territory.    
Looking back, though, she was glad they at least managed to get through those woods mostly unscathed.

 

Come nighttime, they found their way through the mountainside beneath the patches of trees marking the start of a rainforest and took cover in a cave. It was small, but it would serve as good enough shelter for the night.

 

—Uh, Highness? — _Morgan asked as they sat around the small campfire._

—Yes?

—What  _ is _ the Barren Lands? — _the boy questioned_.— Are they really barren, or is it called that just because nobody lives there?

—It’s called that because it’s inhabited, yes. — _the Prince nodded_.— The jungle has managed to regrow, as far as I knew, but whether it has taken over the villages and cities we’ll have to find out.

—But why is it empty? — _Kana pondered_.— Why would nobody want to live there?

—It used to be two different kingdoms. — _Prince Hríd hummed, and Kiran blinked at that. There used to be? How does a kingdom just… disappear?!_ — However, there was a terrible war many a year ago, and now they’re both gone.

—If they’re gone, why hasn’t Nifl or Múspell taken over the land? — _Kiran quirked a brow._

—Is that what would happen in your realm? — _the Prince countered._

—Well- yes.

—Not here. — _he shook his head no._ — Another kingdom, far from here, suggested those lands be kept empty to prevent Nifl and Múspell from having border disputes.

 

Silence settled on them as Kiran processed that information.

 

—And yet there’s a war anyway. — _she mumbled._

—Nothing can stop the thirst for conquest of a powerful enough leader. — _the Prince stated, somber._

  
Kiran nodded softly to that.   
She knew well enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The team is out of the forest, but the journey is far from over!  
> And yes, by "the Key", the neighbors meant Breidablik.
> 
> So I can't be the only one who headcanons legendary/magic weapons leaving marks on the user's body.   
> Kiran was lost in the Prince's hands and he got lost in her eyes lmao
> 
> Everyone hop on the domestic fluff train, we depart at 5!


	17. Strenght

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran, the kids and the Prince leave Nifl for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's here! And I didn't have much time to proof-read so there might be a couple more mistakes than usual lol sorry  
> Hope you enjoy!!

By the morning of the next day they had buried the dead campfire under the rocks of the cave and left as soon as the sun rose. 

They seemed to be in a misty forest, just short of the jungle that was probably the Barren Lands and significantly warmer than what Mímameiðr’s Forest had been.   
It was still very cold, though.

 

Rounding the small mountain range they had taken cover in during the night, they walked until almost noon when the gigantic valley in the horizon came into better view.   
And Kiran was stunned into silence.

 

Where the misty forest ended there was a huge flower field cutting abruptly somewhere ahead of them, where Kiran could only assume was the canyon this Frontier Bridge crossed over. Beyond the dividing line was the continuation of the meadow with trees sprinkled across it before a massive wall of vegetation cut their view short of what was beyond, another mountain range peeking over the canopies in the distance.   
That had to be the Barren Lands.

 

Their marching stopped suddenly as the Prince stared off into the side, having come to a halt out of nowhere.

Confused, Kiran followed his line of sight.

 

Walking down the mountain out of the misty forest as they were, was a large group of deer. They were making their way at a respectable pace, adults stopping from time to time for the young ones to catch up, Kiran catching glimpses of them through the trees.

 

—They must be heading north for the winter. — _the Prince mused, then sighed in defeat_.— Luck certainly has its twisted ways.

—What do you mean? — _Morgan questioned, looking up at him._

—We’re just short of winter season. — _the Prince informed._ — Had Múspell invaded us slightly later, we could’ve posed a much better resistance. However… — _he pulled on the horses reins so he would follow him towards the deer._ — You three might have frozen over in the woods as we escaped. And we wouldn’t have found much animals to hunt in there either.

 

The kids both let out uncomfortable hums at that, glad they had  _ not _ frozen over or died of starvation back there.   
Kiran, meanwhile, couldn’t help but wonder if winter would’ve really stopped Múspell or hindered their advance at all. Because, well, everyone liked to joke about Russian winters but the truth is the Germans didn’t last long due to their stylish-but-useless-for-cold uniforms, not the winter itself. Had they been kitted out with proper winter gear, they could’ve just had a better campaign up there.   
And considering Múspell’s strongest forces were their  _ fire mages _ …   
Yeah, for as cruel as it was, Kiran doubted Nifl had ever had a chance in the first place.

 

Kiran’s musings were cut short as they hid behind some trees, closer to the deer pack than before.   
The Prince turned to her.

 

—How is your hand? — _he asked, a whisper._

 

Kiran blinked, before realizing he probably meant “how is your hand for shooting”.

She held her bow and took a pointy stick from her quiver, pulling on the string tentatively.

 

—I… should be able to. — _she mumbled._

 

Before giving herself more time to hesitate, she took aim and felt the strenght on the bowstring for a second.   
It was  _ just wonderful _ to not know whether she could properly use her dominant hand or not again.   
Fuckin’ fantastic.

 

She bit back the salt in her thoughts and let the arrow loose.

The small group watched intently as the stick flew over the back of the biggest dear, grazing it, but failing to do anything else other than get stuck in the grass far from them and put the entire pack into retreat mode.

Kiran would’ve cursed out loud had the Prince not reacted faster than what she’d expected. He took the bow from her hands and pulled another stick from her quiver in a single motion, aiming for the fleeing pack and shooting towards them with cold decision.

One of the other big deer fell to the arrow through its chest.

 

Kiran accepted her bow back from the Prince in silence, feeling utterly stupid.

 

—Sorry… — _she muttered._

 

The Prince just took her bandaged hand and examined it, the kids watching with amusement as the deer continued to run away into the distance. At some point, they even jumped into the disaster to scare them away. Of course, the one they’d just hunted down had been left behind.

 

—Make a fist. — _he commanded, and she obliged. He let out a soft hum._ — It’s recovering just fine.

—Eh- is it? — _Kiran was surprised._

—Yes. — _the Prince nodded_.— We’ll just have to work in regaining your dexterity. It shouldn’t be much of a problem, you should be back to normal soon.

—But… it was just some bruises. — _she mumbled, confused. Or had he noticed something else? No, he couldn’t have. She decided not to ponder over why there was a “we” in that statement._

—Was it, now. — _he hummed, looking at her dead in the eyes with an intensity that made her lean back slightly._

 

Then, his grip on her wrist tightened a bit and with his free hand he pulled her leather protector off and pushed her sleeve past her elbow.   
Kiran only managed to gasp in surprise as he turned her arm around slightly, searching for one thing and one thing only.   
And when he found it, he gave her a deadpan look.

 

The scars from when she’d broken her arm three years ago.   
It had been a very bad accident. Both her bones had been broken and it had taken her months and months of rehab to hold a pencil properly again. The scars from the countless operations the medics had made on her arm had never faded, and her hold on things hadn’t managed to go back to normal.   
Even after her parents jumped to the opportunity of buying her a bow so she could practice marksmanship and distract herself, the doctors having agreed that it would help.   
And it had helped. A lot. Her hand didn’t tremble for everything anymore and she had regained most of her strenght in her arm.

However…

No matter how much she continued to practice drawing, the only thing aside from maybe singing that she’d been good at before picking up the bow, it wasn’t the same it had been before she broke her arm.   
She hadn’t healed fully yet.

 

—How…? — _she breathed out, confused._

—Soldiers have incidences like these all the time, Miss Kiran. — _the Prince simply said, pulling her sleeve back down and fitting her leather protector on again._ — I know the signs of ongoing rehabilitation.

 

Kiran opened her mouth to question when had he even had the time to observe her enough to notice that, when the kids’ voices reached them from where the deer had fled.

 

—Hey, come on, what are you doing? — _Morgan called out._

—We’re hungry! — _Kana whined, a grin present in her voice regardless._

 

They, once again, made skewers with half the meat and salted and packed the rest for the following day.

Hurrying up so they could cross the border as soon as possible, they ate fast and moved out towards the flower field.

 

By the time they reached the Frontier Bridge, the sun was starting to set, they were tired, and Kana was carrying an armful of flowers she’d picked on the way there.

 

Kiran had been right in her assumptions: the line separating the Barren Lands from Nifl was a canyon with a river coursing at the bottom, probably originating from one or both the mountain ranges around the valley.   
Therefore, she tried not to look down as they crossed the wide stone bridge atop Glaðr, possibly-certain death below them.

 

Come night time, they had crossed through a patch of rainforest and were marching on a path up one of the mountains.   
Kiran couldn’t deny how beautiful the view was.   
But she could also not deny how it was late and they hadn’t stopped yet.

 

—Where are we going…? I wanna sleep… — _Kana mumbled, lazily pressed to the Prince’s back in front of her as one would with the pillows on their bed._

—There’s an outpost up this mountain. Abandoned, of course. — _Prince Hríd informed_.— We might be safer out of Nifl, but we should still seek cover for the night if possible.

—But why not the jungle down there? — _Morgan questioned, tired._

—It might still be cold around these parts, but one should never underestimate the amount of insects that make their living in a rainforest. — _the Prince shuddered, somber._

—Yeah… — _Kiran agreed, shaking the thought away._ — We should really stay out of there if we can. — _she told the kids, who let out lazy noises of comprehension._

 

The climb up the mountain lasted another hour before they sighted the outpost.

As the Prince had said, it was abandoned.

 

It was a relatively small fortress perched on the side of the mountain, facing the canyon and the Frontier Bridge. It had a stunning view, no doubt it had been used in the past for controlling who crosses the border.

Most of the walls were damaged and had plants growing on and through them, but she supposed it was mostly intact due to its location. Most of the chambers had debris in them, pieces of wood and scraps of broken swords and armor. A couple were absolutely empty, with claw marks all over the walls and wide windows with broken down wooden doors.

 

—The wyvern keeps. — _the Prince noted as they explored the place._

—The what? — _Kana quirked a brow._

—Here the soldiers saddled their wyverns and took off on missions through those windows. — _he explained._

 

The outpost had a small yard within the confines of the stone walls, most of the grass in there having been gaining territory over the dirt patches where the soldiers probably trained. There was also a structure that must’ve been the stables on the other side of the small yard, where they left Glaðr for the night.

Eventually, they reached a wide chamber containing broken stools and a lone run-down desk, as well as a battered bedroll.   
That was probably the barracks.

 

—These must’ve been emptied when the soldiers fled for Nifl. — _the Prince mused._

—Alright, well- what now? — _Morgan asked, hands resting on his hips._ — There’s only one bedroll.

—Ah- good point. — _Kiran mumbled. Well, what now indeed. It was the size of an adult person, they wouldn’t fit even if they all curled up._ — Didn't the stable have hay?

—That might be a better option, yes. — _the Prince nodded to that._ — Let’s go back.

 

So they made their way back to the stables, Glaðr looking up from where he’d been munching on some grass when they entered.

Kana jumped towards the hay, transforming into a dragon mid-air and landing to curl up in her usual position. As the Prince tended to the steed, Kiran gave Morgan the blanket and helped him settle near the dragon.

The kids fell asleep almost instantly. They must’ve been pretty tired.

 

Prince Hríd walked past her and sat on the hay, far enough from the kids not to disturb their sleep. He looked up at her, offering a hand.

Already knowing it was about the wounds, Kiran sat down next to him and gave him her bandaged hand.

 

—So… about Mímameiðr’s Forest… — _she mumbled, softly, curious beyond herself. Well, he had said he’d tell her once they were out of there, after all._

—Ahh… — _he hummed, thinking how to explain it best while he worked on changing her bandages._ — Well… it happened a long, long time ago, before the Great War. 

 

Kiran assumed by Great War he meant the conflict that caused the Barren Lands to be… well, barren.   
When he’d finished with her bandages, he let go of her hand and looked off to the side, organizing his thoughts. Kiran waited patiently.

 

—Nifl has never gotten along with Múspell, you see. — _he began, softly_.— Not before the war, and certainly not after it. There were plenty of conflicts in this continent, but even so, Nifl managed to remain a pacifist kingdom. 

—How? — _Kiran questioned, surprised._

—Thanks to Mímameiðr’s Forest. — _his eyes focused on hers for a second before he looked away._ — It used to be so much bigger… I’ve read it reached almost to the Frontier Bridge and extended all the way from ocean to ocean. It was impossible to cross it without Niflese caravans, meaning Múspell’s pride and joy, their wyvern riders, were the only feasible option to get across. — _he let out a dark chuckle._ — And even that was a hassle. The woods were so vast it was impossible for a wyvern to clear them in a day, let alone without having to make several stops to rest. Stopping in the forest, of course, was out of the question; far too dangerous. So Múspell discovered fast they wouldn’t be able to cross into Nifl for as long as Mímameiðr’s Forest was in the way.

 

There was silence for a moment as Kiran took in all the information, not liking where this was going.    
If Mímameiðr’s Forest  _ used _ to be bigger, then that means…

 

—Don’t tell me they… — _she didn’t finish that thought._

—In order for them to have any chance at invading Nifl sometime in the future, Mímameiðr’s Forest had to be dealt with. — _he nodded, somber, bitter_.— So they burned it down.

 

Kiran covered her mouth with one hand and looked away from him, down to the side.   
To invade another country – a  _ pacifist _ one at that – they just… burned down a forest? They decided they had the right to do such a thing?!   
Unforgivable.

 

—More than half of it had been reduced to ashes by the time Niflese mages managed to get to the scene and stop the fire. — _the Prince continued._ — The neighboring kingdom - that is, one of the two who occupied the Barren Lands back then - was pissed with Múspell after the ashes from the forest fire were swept over to their villages by the wind. They forbid them from ever setting foot on their soil, and that’s the main reason why it has taken Múspell this long to invade us.

—So the neighbors are angry at us humans because… we burned down their forest? — _Kiran asked, the pieces clicking together. That made sense, of course they wouldn’t want the species who probably decimated them entering their home!_

—Basically, yes. We found out the harsh way not long after the burning. — _the Prince sighed, looking back at her._ — Then the Great War came along and the Barren Lands were established as neutral territory. Múspell is only now launching their invasion because they’ve amassed enough forces and are tired of waiting.

—How long ago was the Great War? — _she asked, confused, trying to piece a timeline in her mind._

—A bit more than four hundred years.

 

There was silence for a beat.

 

—Múspell waited four hundred years to attack Nifl?! — _Kiran whisper-yelled, shocked, mindful of the kids sleeping nearby._

—Well- they  _ were _ very devastated after the war; after all they put most of the manpower needed to end it. — _Prince Hríd quirked a brow, confused by her reaction_.— But your shock has concerning implications.

—I mean- That’s because I don’t think my realm has gone longer than forty years without there being a war somewhere. — _Kiran mumbled, sheepish, still surprised._

 

The Prince frowned.

 

—Yours is a realm of war, too? — _he asked, soft, maybe even worried._

—Yes. — _she nodded to that, taken by surprise by his tone_.— Though… not of war as you know it, Highness. Things have changed with the decades.

 

Some minutes later they had both settled in for the night, back to back even if the temperature wasn’t as freezing as it had been in the forest

 

Fiddling with the cotton cloth and waiting for sleep to take her, Kiran’s mind wandered on about their situation.

Each step they took away from Nifl was a step towards safety. Judging by how the Prince regarded these Barren Lands it was easy to assume the Muspellian soldiers hadn’t pitched camp nor taken outposts in here.   
Yet, at the same time, each step they took was a step towards Múspell itself and their semi-suicidal mission. 

She still didn't like the plan. Of course she didn’t. No part about entering enemy territory and being on the complete hide-and-run was enticing to her. But she understood it would be near impossible to keep those three under control in the Barren Lands as they would long to be doing  _ something _ to help out.   
And, well, for as much as she didn’t like it, she had to admit the plan made some semblance of sense. That is to say, a small party infiltrating a kingdom in the middle of a war and assassinating their king to end it wasn’t that big of a stretch. It was the fact that said party consisted of a capable Prince, two children and an archer who could barely carry her own weight what worried her.   
Oh, don’t get her wrong, she was decently confident in her ability to survive; the problem was she had to survive while at the same time fending for two children and, soon enough, in enemy territory.

Be that as it may, there was no stopping them now.

So she just had to keep her strong front up and pray to whatever was out there that no blow big enough hit her to break her defensive wall.

 

Kiran awoke in the middle of the night, not really sure when exactly she had fallen asleep, but certain she’d been kicked out of her sleep due to one thing in particular.   
Which was… the Prince was gone. Her heat source wasn’t at her back anymore.

 

Groggily, confused, and with concern creeping on her, she sat up on the hay and examined the stables for a second.   
The kids were fine and the horse was still there, so nothing  _ too _ bad could’ve happened.

And yet it was still nighttime, a quick check on her phone telling her it was sometime around two a.m.

Where was the Prince?

 

Absentmindedly cursing him for indirectly awakening from her oh so needed slumber, Kiran stood up and meandered as quiet as she could out of the stables.

Half awake, she strolled through the outpost for some minutes before she finally found him in what seemed to be the control room, a chamber in the highest floor of the complex with a broken table and some stools, windows on all four walls offering a near perfect 360° view of the landscape around them.

Prince Hríd was there, leaning on one of the windows, his back to her.

 

—I was certain I hadn’t woken any of you up. — _he spoke._

 

Kiran had to take a moment to properly come into her senses. There was something in his tone of voice that struck her as odd.   
He sounded… melancholic...?

 

—Well, the cold sure did. — _Kiran offered lamely._

 

At that, he simply let out a non-committal noise.   
Kiran sighed in silence.

 

—You should really sleep, High- — _she began, but stopped near the end as his shoulders suddenly sagged and he let his head drop down with a tired sigh._ — Is… Is something the matter?

—Yes, you should really stop calling me that. — _he finally turned to face her, though only halfway. He looked utterly exhausted, which Kiran had not expected. Because, well- he hadn’t been that way when they went to sleep._

—W-What? — _she managed to blurt out regardless, confused._

—That title, “Highness”; I… — _he made a pause, closing his eyes and facing away from her once again_.— I don’t deserve it. So stop, you can call me by name.

 

There was silence for a moment as Kiran processed his words.   
What???

 

—What…? Wh- What do you mean you “don’t deserve it”? — _Kiran questioned, even more confused, and now slightly worried he was even saying such a thing._

—We’ve left Nifl to its own devices, Miss Kiran. — _the Prince sighed for what felt like the tenth time in that minute, ambling over to the nearest stool and letting himself slump down on it._ — I’ve abandoned my kingdom in its hour of need. How can I call myself a Prince after that?

 

Silence ruled once again.

 

Did he… really think that?

She made her way around the table and came to stand in front of him, waiting until he grew curious of her action and looked up at her.

 

—You have  _ not _ abandoned Nifl, Highness. — _Kiran stated, serious._

—If you want to get pedantic then no; but I left it behind in the middle of a war. — _he motioned aimlessly to one side with his hand._ — It might as well be abandonment.

—Alright, first off, I didn’t mean it in that sense. — _she backtracked, trying to put her thoughts together_.— Second, this is in no way a war, Highness; this was a conquest. I hate to say this, but Nifl had no chances against Múspell. What we just lived cannot be called a war, trust me.

—That still doesn’t excuse the fact that I essentially fled as the capital was being sieged. — _he insisted, dull, his gaze lowering._

 

Kiran stopped herself from rolling her eyes and knelt down to look at his face.

 

—Highness, there was nothing you could’ve done to stop Múspell’s forces. — _she spoke, soft but determined_.— You did what was correct. You can’t launch an all out attack nor die valiantly trying to hold the last stone of the castle because who will protect Nifl’s people when you’re gone?

 

This prompted the Prince to meet her gaze, and Kiran’s heart squeezed.

He looked lost. He looked sad.    
He looked  _ afraid. _

 

—Your mother told me something not long before the capital’s siege started. — _she continued, her tone becoming more gentle with his focus solely on her.—_ She said your duty is not to die for Nifl, but to live for it.

 

At those words, there was a sharp intake of air from the Prince, and then he looked down.

 

—But to run away? To leave them all behind…? — _he mumbled, and Kiran barely noticed how his voice was trembling slightly. Her heart was squeezed once again, and not in a good way. How long had he been mulling over this?!_ — Was abandoning them really the only way…?

—You did not abandon Nifl, Highness. Nifl is not the lands that were taken over by Múspell. — _Kiran shook her head no, managing a bittersweet smile. He looked back into her eyes, the faintest bit surprised_.— Nifl is the people. Nifl is all the townsfolk and soldiers that were sent to take refuge in the villages far from the capital. Nifl is all those people whom you  _ saved _ , and whose future you’re ensuring by staying alive; even if that means you must be far from them to accomplish that.

—Why…? — _an ironic smile twitched its way into his expression, and he covered his eyes with one hand_.— You can stop trying to cheer me up, Miss Kiran, I know it’s not true-

—It’s true! — _she insisted, mindful of her volume._ — Highness, do you seriously believe  _ anyone _ would’ve wanted you to stay and die there?! I’d bet you only left on your own through the city in flames because the guards forced you out of your station.

—Well, of course they did, they had to. — _he mumbled, refusing to meet her gaze_.— I’m the Prince, after all.

—Exactly! — _Kiran exclaimed, relieved when he peeked through his own fingers to look at her in confusion_.— I take it must be frustrating, but it’s precisely because you’re the Prince that you  _ had to  _ leave! You carry a great responsibility, Highness. You have a duty with Nifl, and to fulfil that duty your life must be preserved at all costs. You  _ have _ to live on, even if it means you must “abandon” your kingdom!

 

From what she could see of his face, she was saddened when it contorted into a pitiful frown before he leaned his elbows on his knees, burrowing his face in his hands.

 

—And I  _ have _ to leave, don’t I? — _he mumbled, hands trembling, defeated._ — I  _ have _ to leave them all behind so I can save myself?

—It pains me to say this, but yes. That is the burden you carry as a Prince, Highness. — _Kiran begrudgingly nodded, even if he wouldn’t see it. Her heart twisted at the shaky breath he let out at that, and she quickly tried to add something else_.— B-But I know you’re strong, you can get through this-!

—I am  _ not _ strong enough, Miss Kiran! — _the Prince suddenly exclaimed, his head jerking up. Kiran’s breath caught in her throat at the sight of his furrowed brow and watery eyes fighting back the tears._ — Do I look strong to you, breaking down at something like this?!

 

There was a beat of silence.

 

—...The strongest.

—What…? — _he breathed out, baffled, brow furrowing even more as he struggled to take her seriously._ — Now you’re just toying with me-

—I am not! — _Kiran balled her hands into fists._

 

The Prince’s frown nearly vanished, replaced by a blank look of uncertainty.

Kiran took a deep breath, taking his momentary shock to organize her thoughts a little, lips pressed into a thin line.

 

Who knew how long he’d been thinking through this stuff? Since they left the forest the day prior? Fuck, maybe since they left the  _ capital _ . He had been suffering over what he was doing for all this time, and he said nothing! Kiran didn’t even notice something was troubling him, she just assumed it was to be expected considering they were fleeing for their lives!

Oh, and  _ she’d _ been the one panicking over her own situation? What a fucking joke. This man had the weight of a ravaged kingdom on his shoulders, forced to flee so that one day he might come back and rebuild it; and he stood unflinching in the face of obstacles even as he had to put up with two children and a foreigner slowly spiraling into despair and losing what self-confidence she had!   
And he didn’t think himself strong enough?!

 

—Highness, you were forced to abandon your kingdom. — _Kiran reminded him, stern, but soft at the same time._ — You had to flee to safety as your home was being sieged. You were unable to do  _ anything _ to change the situation. — _a small pause, and her stern facade faltered._ — And yet you tread onwards! Instead of taking refuge somewhere and waiting for everything to pass as someone like  _ me _ planned to do, you’ve devised a plan to try and end this conquest as soon as possible! Despite being out of your kingdom, you’re still doing everything within your power to aid it! — _she insisted, taking a moment to calm herself down._ — If that doesn’t make you strong, then I don’t know what strenght is!

—Yes, well- but I’ve been trained to do that! — _he tried to argue, his tone of voice betraying him_.— I’m a soldier, Miss Kiran; fighting for my kingdom is what I’m  _ supposed _ to do! I’m not- — _he stopped himself short to swallow past a lump in his throat, looking away from her._

—Not everyone can do that, Highness. Not all soldiers would follow through like you’re doing. — _she leaned to the side, trying to get him to look at her_.— Not everyone would take it upon themselves to plan an assassination on their enemies to hopefully end this disaster!

—Of course they wouldn’t, they don’t have to! — _unable to twist his torso more to keep her from looking into his eyes, the Prince outright covered his face with his hands, elbows on his knees._ — I do, I am a Prince! It is my duty to see after Nifl’s safety; I have no choice  _ but  _ to do this!

—Yes you do, nobody would blame you if you laid low and waited until it was all resolved. Nobody would blame you for playing it safe when all odds are against you. — _Kiran insisted. The more he spoke, the more she could feel her heart crushing inside her. Was he truly so convinced of all of this?!_ — And yet you do it anyways. — _she mumbled, realizing something._ — This is not moved by your duty. This is moved by your devotion to your people, isn’t it?

 

The Prince sunk lower into his seat, arms trembling.   
If there hadn’t been absolute silence around them, she would’ve missed his choked sob.

 

—Highness. — _she whispered, crawling closer until she was kneeling right in front of him._ — Highness, please, look at me.

 

With her plea, she took hold of his wrists. She felt him tense against her touch then melt instantly to her warmness.

So she pried his hands away from his face and waited patiently until he dared gaze into her eyes.

The sight of his tears threatening to fall against all his efforts and his afraid expression was a stab right through her heart.

 

—I’m sorry. — _he mumbled, averting his gaze._ — I’m sorry you have to see me like this; I must look like such a disappointment.

—Why? — _she murmured, trying not to let the sadness through to her voice. She was going to help him there, she couldn’t go around getting emotional._

—”Why?” I’m a soldier, Miss Kiran, I’m supposed to protect the three of you. — _he shut his eyes tight, facing away from her even as she held his wrists._ — How can I do that if I’m- — _he swallowed_.— If I couldn’t even protect my own kingdom…? I’m not strong enough for this.

—Strenght isn’t measured in how many of your foes you can take down on your own, or how much damage you can deal with a weapon, or how long you can go without crying. — _Kiran managed out a soft smile, unsure. Something within her gained hope when his eyes met hers, though reluctantly._ — Strenght is the ability to face your problems and move forward. Strenght is the ability to not give up, even if the situation seems dire. Strenght is fueled by your emotions, Highness; by how much you care about something enough to do whatever it takes to see it through.

—But-

—Sometimes, — _she cut in, not letting him say anything else._ — those who cry are the strongest people.

 

The Prince let out another choked sob at that, this time much more audible, and hung his head low.   
She could  _ feel _ his wrists shaking.   
This was torture.

 

Kiran wasn’t sure if this was the correct thing to do, but she couldn’t find it in herself to just leave him alone like this. She stood up, letting go of him, the Prince raising his head in confusion to see her.

Kiran opened her arms, her cotton cloth draping over her shoulders and back like a cape.

 

It didn’t take him long to understand what she meant by that.

It also didn’t take him long to take a hold of her waist, pulling her so close so strongly Kiran was left with no choice but to sit on his lap, one leg at each side.   
He hid his face in the crook of her neck, arms holding onto her for dear life as he trembled and let his quiet choked sobs fill the room.

Kiran just sat there at first, shocked he’d been so quick to accept her offer of comfort and surprised by how strongly he was holding her. But as his quiet, near silent crying started, she found herself unable to stay still and act as a simple pillow.

She placed her arms gently around his shoulders, one hand holding on to his cape while the other brushed his hair tentatively, no more than soft petting. But judging by how he melted under the contact, it was safe to say he at least didn’t mind.

 

They stayed there for what felt like at least an hour (it must’ve been some fifteen minutes, thirty tops), her hugging him softly and him holding on strongly as he attempted and failed to quell his sobbing.

Kiran simply closed her eyes, trying to ignore the feeling deep in her chest that stabbed her every time he let out a pained whimper.

 

Eventually, of course, his crying subsided. She stood up, and he followed suit, holding his head with one hand as it probably hurt a little from all the sobbing.

 

—Better now? — _she asked softly._

—Yes, thank you. — _he mumbled, sighing, looking to the side._ — Sorry you had to see that…

—Never be sorry for that, Highness. I’m here to help. — _she smiled the faintest bit, relieved. Well, she couldn’t help with anything else so emotional support and a shoulder to cry on was the only thing she could offer the group. But that was fine, she supposed. Those things can go a long way._

 

The Prince gave her a tired look, and a smile slowly made its way to his lips.   
It was a slightly sad one, but it was a smile nonetheless.

 

They made their way back to the stables, finding the kids and the stallion still sound asleep.   
That was good.

 

One after the other, they took their spots atop the hay, back to back.

As Kiran waited for sleep to take her once again, however, she felt something within her that wanted to face the other way.   
But she ignored it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, that happened  
> Basically the reason why Hríd's been so damn somber this whole time is because he couldn't shake away the guilt of fleeing his kingdom while feeling like he had to stay behind and fight or do something
> 
> I hope this didn't come across as rushed?? lol that's my usual corncern sorry;;;;;;;


	18. Muddy Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran, the kids and the Prince set camp in a rivershore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tents! Actual tents instead of pines and leaves n shit!
> 
> I can't believe it took me this long to get this one up, sorry;;;;;;;;  
> Enjoy~

By the time morning came, Kiran got up from her spot due to the hay starting to itch on her cheek. It wasn’t long before the rest were up as well, and they began their way back down the mountain and into the rainforest.

 

Kiran was very glad it was cold still, actually. The climate in that place was humid.   
Dreadfully so.

 

—Hey, so, um… — _Morgan spoke up as they had just entered the jungle, walking right behind Kiran_.— When’s the soonest you think we can expect help from that other kingdom to come by?

—...What do you mean? — _the Prince asked back, slightly confused, his gaze fixed on the trail ahead as he maneuvered himself and the horse around the dense vegetation_.

—Well- If I recall correctly, the last “plan” we made with the Princesses was one of them should make her way to that kingdom to ask for help. — _Morgan recalled, jumping over a root, his eyes on the floor not to trip_.— So I was wondering… how long before we could see allied soldiers coming by?

—Ahh… that depends on many things. — _the Prince pondered over that for a moment, making thinking noises_.— Fjorm was the one we ultimately decided should go seek help to Askr. However, I don’t know which route she took; she could still be travelling as we speak. — _there was a hesitant pause_.— But…

—But? — _Kiran repeated, intrigued._

—Theoretically, Askr might know of this disaster before Fjorm arrives. — _the Prince mused._

—What? How? — _Kiran was confused. These were medieval times, and judging by how nobody thought about sending a messenger hawk or something it could mean both continents had no effective ways to communicate. Sea routes might be closed too if Askr was in fact also fighting a war of their own, considering they called a Great Hero. So how could they know?_

—My sister… Gunnthrá, that is, she inherited a very precious power from my father. — _he began_.— With enough effort, she can communicate with other people in their dreams.

—Wh- That’s possible?! — _Kana sounded shocked, nearly bumping into a log. Kiran was quick to redirect her._

—Yes, well, she can only  _ send _ messages, unfortunately. — _the Prince explained._ — Sending a message to someone in Askr would require an immense magical power; power which she doesn’t have to such magnitude. The only way she could do it was if she decided to travel to the sanctuary at Snjárhof, to the northern mountains of Nifl. — _he mused_.— That place should act as a powersource for her to send a message.

—Suppose she does reach this, uh… this sanctuary. Suppose she manages to send a message. — _Kiran commented._ — How much sooner would help arrive if that were the case?

—It takes five days to get from the castle to the Snjárhof sanctuary. — _Prince Hríd hummed_.— If she managed to get there as soon as possible and the message reached someone in Askr just fine… — _he trailed off, seemingly running the numbers. But then he sighed._ — I don’t think it really matters. Askr has their own war to worry about. Unless they somehow encountered an interruption, I doubt they will seriously consider sending help if Fjorm isn’t there to put pressure on them. Besides, even if they do send help, chances are they will send us a small battalion or a scouting party.

—So…? — _Kana inquired, clearly having lost track of the conversation somewhere after her shock._

—We shouldn’t consider allied reinforcements as a variable when making our plans. — _the Prince eventually stated, a little bit somber._ — I won’t deny the possibility of some coming around, but the probabilities are too low to bank on them for anything.

 

The kids exchanged looks, but continued walking.   
Kiran tried not to gulp at that. They were truly on their own in this, weren’t they?

 

Their marching through the rainforest was nowhere near as tiring as their pace in the woods. They didn’t even mount Glaðr at all! She supposed, if there were no reinforcements to meet up with and the Niflese were all safe in the villages to the south, then there was no real reason to rush. Of course, the sooner they put their little plan into action, the sooner this bloody conquest would hopefully end; but they didn’t have to go running around. They could actually save up strenght and take their time.

Mímameiðr’s Forest had only been so rushed because they were trying to flee Nifl, which  _ was _ in fact something done against the clock.

 

Kiran wasn’t sure if she was glad they could take their time for once, or if she dreaded having to be in the run for any longer than necessary.   
She was being a little whiny, and she felt horrible she couldn’t help it.   
So she just bit her lip and stayed silent.

 

They made a stop sometime in the afternoon to eat the leftover meat from the deer of yesterday. While the kids and the Prince turned the skewers, Kiran rummaged through her pouch so the flashlight would be more accessible for the night. Now that they were out of the woods, she figured it would be fine to use it, since there were less chances a group of Muspellian soldiers were still following their footsteps.

As her hands cleaned out rubber waste from the bottom, her fingers brushed a cold metallic thing.   
Upon further inspection, she discovered a needle at the very bottom of her pouch.

Well, now she knew she could patch up holes in their clothes if they ever came across yarn or thread.

 

—Kiran, won’t you eat? — _Morgan called for her, snapping her out of her little confusion as she wondered when had she even stored a needle there._

 

Sheepish, she chuckled out an affirmation and sat around the campfire with them, Kana handing her a skewer.

 

—Did you find anything? — _the Prince questioned, and she quirked a brow. How had he even noticed...? She should probably stop asking those things._

—There was a needle in the bottom of my pouch. — _she shrugged, stopping a second to take a bite._ — I was just a bit confused because I don’t remember putting it there.

—What else do you have? — _Morgan asked, intrigued._

—My sketchbook, a pen, a flashlight, and my phone. — _she simply replied. Both kids made noises that indicated they did remember that “phone” thing._

—What’s a “pen”? — _Kana sounded confused._

—Like a quill, but with the ink inside. — _Kiran took another bite of the meat. Damn, hunger sure made everything taste ten times better than what it probably was._

—That’s practic. — _the Prince mused._ — And what is this “flashlight” thing?

—A device that produces light. — _Kiran explained_.— So I can find my way around dark places. Kinda like an oil lamp but without the fire. And the oil.

—But... How can you produce light without fire? — _Morgan questioned._

—Ahh, well, the people in my realm have figured out a way to make light out of electricity. — _she looked up, trying to organize her thoughts. But she sighed softly and gave the kid an apologetic smile instead_.— But I don’t know exactly how it works, sorry.

—Can I see it? — _Kana scooted over to her, excited._

 

Kiran chuckled, amused, and fished out her flashlight before giving it to the little girl. It was sun-powered, so she wasn’t really worried Kana would waste the batteries or whatever.   
Besides, seeing how the girl was fiddling around with it in confusion, Kiran wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t manage to turn it on at all.

 

—Ooh, pretty! — _Kana commented, giggling, eyeing the LEDs._ — It’s like a glass toy!

 

Her little fingers held the flashlight by the body, her left index unknowingly pressing the on/off button.   
Kiran was quick to snap a hand on top of the LEDs to prevent the sudden influx of light from hitting Kana’s eyes.

 

—Wha- — _Kana gaped, confused by the sudden action._

—Careful. — _Kiran warned, softly taking the flashlight from her hands and aiming it at the ground. The light was barely visible due to the brightness of the day, but it was clear a spot was being illuminated atop the dead leaves._ — You should never point a flashlight directly at your eyes, it could hurt you.

—Hurt her?! — _the other two questioned in unison, shocked._

—Yes, well- Because the light emitted by this is too potent, so it would be like staring directly at the sun. — _Kiran explained, slightly nervous by the sudden concern_.— This one isn’t too powerful, actually, so nothing too bad would happen if you did flash light directly into your eyes. But some are made specifically to blind people, at times forever. — _she shrugged, sheepish._ — So my instincts kicked in, sorry.

—That’s… — _Prince Hríd seemed surprised, gaze lowering to ponder the implications of that._ — It makes sense. If you can control light to such an extent, why not use it like a Shine spell?

—Oh, you mean… as a weapon? — _Morgan was just as surprised, apparently not having expected that._

—We don’t have magic in my realm, remember? — _Kiran mused, turning the flashlight off._

 

After that, the kids insisted she tell them a story to pass the time. According to the Prince, they should be reaching a rivershore before night falls, and that would be the best place to set up camp. So Kiran decided to humor them and spent the rest of the marching telling them short and random fairytales she could remember.

 

On their way, they came across several flowers, and butterflies feeding off of the salt in the soil. They made short stops here and there for the kids (and Kiran, but shhh) to marvell in the view. In one of them, Kiran spotted a particular flower that caught her eye. Not because it was especially beautiful (not that it wasn’t), but because she recognized it from her realm.   
It was a hibiscus. She knew they grew in tropical climates but damn, this one had to be strong to stand the still-rather-cold area around that place.

Still, thinking it could come in use for when they next boiled water, she plucked a couple of the flowers (it was a big plant, but she still felt a bit bad about it) and stored them between the pages of her sketchbook so they would dry up.

 

By nightfall they had sure as hell reached a river shore.   
It was more like a beach, to be honest.

 

The river itself was  _ huge _ . Muddy brown waters full of sediment stretching across at least twenty or thirty meters in front of them.   
How were they going to clear that?!

 

Kiran decided they could deal with that come morning, and busied herself with helping Prince Hríd set up the only tent they had.   
It was harder than what she’d expected, but then again… tents in her realm were much different.

 

—Hey! — _Kana called out as Kiran struggled to keep the poles straight while the Prince draped the fabric on top._ — Do you think there are fishes in this river?

 

Well, she sounded enthusiastic.

 

—There should be, yes. — _Prince Hríd replied, tying the fabric’s end to the stakes._ — Why?

—Why don’t we catch some? — _the little girl asked._

—Because we don’t have a fishing pole and it’s too muddy to see them. — _Kiran replied, guessing that was the reason why. The Prince let out a “mm-hm” of confirmation._

—Oh, but I can hunt them! — _Kana insisted. That made Kiran stop and look over to the side to see her. She could what, again?_

—You can what? — _Morgan voiced her thoughts, confused._

—Yeah I can hunt fish! — _Kana repeated, beaming_.— Daddy taught me how to do it!

—Oh. — _Kiran mumbled, surprised. Well, she was a dragon, wasn’t she?_ — If that’s so, then I guess it’s fine…

—Just be careful. — _the Prince added._

 

They heard the tell-tale sound of the little girl transforming right around the time the tent was ready. Prince Hríd dusted his hands off as Kiran exited the little shelter, confident with having confirmed it was wide enough to house all four of them, Kana in her dragon form included.   
Glaðr being the only exception, of course.

 

—Let’s see this hand of yours, shall we? — _the Prince’s voice directed her attention back to him, sitting in front of the campfire Morgan had just set up._

 

Kiran nodded and sat to his side, mindful of her distance, offering him her bandaged hand.

There was silence for a moment as the Prince unwrapped her wrist and examined her healing bruises.   
They were almost gone, she was relieved to notice.

 

—So you broke your arm? — _he suddenly asked, dressing her closed-up wounds again, his gaze fixed on his task._

 

Kiran had to take a second for her brain to catch up. Oh. So this wasn’t just checking her hand for the bruises of late, this was what he meant by working on regaining her dexterity.   
He took off both his gloves.

 

—Uh- yes. — _she eventually stuttered._

—Both bones? — _he continued._

—Yeah… it was, um… — _she mumbled, trying to concentrate on her words. It was hard when the Prince was oh so gently pushing her sleeve past her elbow to better look at the scar, his hand grazing her arm all the way up_.— It was a pretty bad accident. My parents, they had me take up archery to… w-well, to help with the recovery.

—They were right in doing so. — _he mused, his thumb ghosting over her scar, his other hand holding her own softly. Kiran could feel the tiny sparks of electricity on her skin at every spot it met his’, and it wasn’t helping her situation. Damn him for being handsome. He frowned, and she was suddenly the tiniest bit afraid he could read her thoughts_.— The scar is too violent…

—Ah- What…? — _she managed to get out, confused._

—How many times did they cut this open to fix the bones? — _he questioned, baffled._

—Oh. — _she let out, dumbly. Well, she guessed in this realm with magic, medical operations were only made if extremely necessary. Maybe only to take out the little broken fragments before applying a healing spell or something._ — About two times, I think?

—Why? — _he insisted._

—No magic in my realm, remember? — _Kiran chuckled nervously_.— So, um, to fix these things they put metal sticks inside to keep the bones straight, I think. — _a pause._ — I don’t know how it works exactly, but they cut it open once to collect any bone shards and put the stick, and then a second time long after to get the stick out.

 

She decided not to mention how that second cut is usually avoided by leaving a bit of the stick protruding from the elbow, which is then simply pulled out; but her family didn’t have the budget for that so yeah, no.   
No need to trouble him with ugly medical procedures.

 

—That still doesn’t explain all these indents. — _his thumb continued to brush her scar, analysing it. Kiran had to think that statement over for a moment._

—That might be due to the stitches. — _she pondered._

—The what? — _he quirked a brow._

—Since there’s no magic to help the wound close, we use a needle and thread to… well, to stitch the gap closed. — _she chuckled, nervous._

—That’s… — _he sighed, clearly having made the mistake of picturing that in his mind_.— I suppose that’s one way to go about it…

 

Kiran nodded softly to that, not knowing what to say.   
He was  _ still _ holding her hand.

 

—Alright. — _he began, pulling her sleeve back down and fitting her leather protector again._ — If archery has helped you until now, then we should continue with that.

—I guess- Wait, “we”? — _she quirked a brow, looking up at him as he stood up._ — And now?

—I would be remiss in not assisting you with this when I’ve trained soldiers who couldn’t even pull on the bowstring. — _he simply hummed, turning to look at the river_.— Besides…

 

Kiran followed his line of sight.

Kana, in her dragon form, was splashing in and out of the water with glee as Morgan skewered the fish she’d caught.   
So far they had two, but it was commendable considering the waters were muddy as hell and visibility down there was probably next to non-existent.

Yeah, they were going to take their time.

 

So the two adults chose a tree, the Prince marked it with his knife to have some semblance of bullseye to aim at, and stepped back a good fifteen meters still within sight of the kids in the river.

 

Fist, the Prince had her do a round of ten arrows (read: pointy sticks) to see where her aim was at and how her muscles tensed with her sleeves once again rolled up, this time as far as they could go.

 

He kept telling her to breathe deeply, but it was very hard when he just kept staring at her in silence.

Eventually, they plucked the sticks from the trunk. Most had landed somewhere near the mark, one even hitting it dead-center, and it gave Kiran a small swell of confidence.   
She was actually not half bad at this! She’d always known it, but with what had happened recently... Plus, her arm still felt weird every time she did it. When she pictured the two times she’d seen him shoot, for instance, it was so swift. Once single motion, no hesitation. He didn’t even aim!

 

—You’re wasting too much time with the bowstring pulled back. — _his voice broke her train of thoughts, and she looked up from where she was placing the sticks back in her quiver to find him pondering something, gaze on the ground._

—Um, what? — _she questioned, confused. How was she supposed to shoot anything if she didn’t take some seconds to aim?_

—Your aim is already good enough, your targets are never going to be a minuscule circle. — _he explained._ — By keeping the tension in your arms for so long, you’re doing nothing but strain your fingers and the string. What you need to train is your eyes.

—My eyes? — _she asked._

—Watch. — _he ordered._

 

Taking her bow from her hand, he pulled out one of the pointed sticks and moved to stand in her place, Kiran taking a startled step back. With the bow down and the arrow barely placed on the loose string, he looked over at the tree trunk with the mark on it.

Then, in one quick, decisive motion, he lifted the bow to a shooting position and pulled the string back, his head leaning into Kiran’s usual aiming angle for nary a second before his fingers released the stick and it went flying forward.

Bullseye.

Kiran was left dumbstruck.

 

—You need to practice gauging the distance between you and your target, and learning to take any possible winds into consideration. — _he spoke softly, pulling her out of her shock._ — You shouldn’t need to have your bowstring pulled back to do that.

 

The next ten minutes were spent practicing.

Just as the Prince instructed, Kiran took the couple of seconds she used to pause with the arrow pulled back to her cheek, to now try and measure the distance with her bow down. She found, like that, she could take all the time she wanted. Because there was no tension pulling at her fingers and arms, so she could just slowly figure out how high she had to agle her shot or how much force she had to put in it.

The Prince then instructed her in the drawing time of the shot. Just as how swordsmen value how quickly they can get their swords out of their scabbards, archers depend a lot on how fast they can raise their bows and pull back the string. It was difficult at first, since she was used to slowly pulling it back to her cheek as she aimed. But after a few tries she found he was right; it saved a lot of effort and strenght.

Of course, her shots were much less centered around the mark; but they were by no means out of the picture.

 

—Practice makes perfect, Miss Kiran. — _Prince Hríd commented as she drew her bow to shoot. One of his hands gave hers a soft nudge upwards right before she let the arrow loose, changing the trajectory the tiniest bit._

 

Bullseye.

 

—And you have plenty of time to practice. — _he added, voice low and gentle, making Kiran acutely aware of his hand still on hers over the bow._

 

She looked at him over her shoulder, gaze landing on his deep turquoise eyes.   
And she realized he was close.

 

—Ahh! No, Kana, stop it! — _Morgan’s cheerful screams snapped both of them out of their trance._

 

Kiran was quick to rush to pluck the pointy stick out of the tree trunk and run over to the kids to see what was happening.

 

—What is it? — _she asked, trying her darndest to have her voice come out normal and not like some undignified squeak. Just pretend that didn’t happen! There was absolutely no way he was leaning closer from behind her!_

—Agh- Now I’m soaked! — _Morgan complained, arms awkwardly stretched to the sides as water dripped down his robe._

 

If Kana’s dragon form dry out of the water was anything to go by, then the little girl had probably shaken off all the droplets like a dog. She quickly transformed back to human and picked the four fishes-on-sticks Morgan had been setting to the side.

 

—We have dinner! — _Kana announced, wide grin in her face, as she presented Kiran with the food._

—Awesome! You must be really good to have caught them, the water is so muddy! — _Kiran smiled, and Kana’s grin widened. That girl was just so endearing, stars. How could she brighten her mood so quickly?!_ — But next time don’t shake it off on Morgan, alright?

—It’s his fault for being so close by! — _the little girl harrumphed, looking off to the side in a pout._

—Well then, next time remember to warn him beforehand. _—Kiran insisted, amused._

—Fine, fine, I will. — _Kana grinned once more, skitting towards the campfire to roast her catch of the day._

 

Kiran watched her go with a tiny smile still on her lips. The little girl bounded up to the Prince walking to meet her, and proudly presented the fruits of her hard work to him.

Prince Hríd smiled warmly and probably complimented her too, judging by how Kana celebrated by raising the fishes-on-sticks high up in the air.

Kiran couldn’t help how her own smile widened the tiniest bit.

 

—Let’s get you dried up, shall we? — _she turned to the boy, helping him take the robe off._

 

Luckily, the rest of Morgan’s clothes were spared the shower. So they set his robe on a log near the campfire and Kiran busied herself with drying his hair with one of her hand towels. Once his dark brown locks were puffed up and messy, but not wet, she sat the towel near his robe and watched the flames until Kana announced the food was ready, having been roasting the fishes with the help of the Prince.

With Kiran’s other hand towel and one of the pots she’d brought, the Prince got around to filtering some of the muddy water to the best of his abilities after they were finished eating. As he prepared the makeshift stovetop with the burning white charcoaled logs to put the pot on for the water to boil, Kiran remembered the hibiscus flowers she’d picked earlier before.

 

She fished her sketchbook out of her pouch and took one of the flowers, examining it closely. It had dried up quite a bit, though not enough to be used for tea.

So with the kids still finishing up their dinner, Kiran held the flower close to the campfire, careful, hoping the heat would dry it up a bit more.

By the time the water was boiling, the petals had shed most of their water and Kiran was satisfied with the result.

 

—Well, we can’t all drink from here. — _the Prince mused, looking at Kiran_.— Do you have your canteen?

—Ah, yes- but we can, uh… — _she waved the flower in front of her face_.— We can make tea with this. I have sugar.

 

Both of the Prince’s brows rose in slight surprise, and they kids turned to see what was happening.

 

—Fairy tea?! — _Kana asked, excited. Kiran was surprised she even remembered that._

—No, it’s not Fairy tea. — _Kiran chuckled._ — But it’s better than plain water, and I think we all need some sugar after we ran out of berries and all we eat is salty meat.

 

Seeing as nobody could argue with that, Kiran threw the flower whole into the pot and added some sugar, using the big wooden spoon she had to stir it gently. She also had two bowls, so they opted to use those as makeshift cups along with her canteen.   
The Prince decided to wait for one of the kids to have their share before using the freed bowl.

 

—What flower is this? — _he asked eventually as both kids were dozing off to the side and the two adults were drinking up the remainings of the pot. It was rather amusing to see him drink tea out of a wooden bowl._

—Hibiscus. — _Kiran replied softly, mindful of the boy and the little girl leaning to her sides._

—I’ve never heard of it. — _Prince Hríd mused._

—I’m pretty sure it only grows in tropical climates, so I was a bit surprised to see it when it’s still rather cold. — _she hummed._

 

He let out a soft noise of comprehension, and they lapsed back into silence. The only sounds around them being the flow of the river, the horse shifting his tail occasionally, the bugs, and some distant frogs.

 

The Prince carried both kids inside the tent after a while, Kiran putting out the campfire, storing the dry hand towel and the other utensils they had used, and bringing Morgan’s robe inside with her. She closed the tent flaps behind her and watched as Kana absentmindedly transformed into a dragon and curled around Morgan, Kiran covering his sleepy form over the leaves they had placed there with the blanket. Wrapped in her cotton cloth, she snuggled up close to the boy to make room for the Prince, who laid down back to back with her.

 

Kiran dreamt of swimming in a muddy river.

 

Come morning, they disassembled the tent and left to continue marching, this time along the river shore. They eventually came across a very run down and precarious rope-and-wood-planks hanging bridge over the water. Seeing as it was the nearest way across, they decided to try their luck with it. It wasn’t as if Kana couldn’t fish them out of the water if they fell.

 

So the little girl flew overhead in her dragon form, landing on the opposite shore. Once she was there, Morgan slowly threaded through the old bridge.   
He made it safely to the other side, but that didn’t really tell the adults much. After all, Morgan was a kid. He probably weighted half Kiran’s own weight.

Supposing it was best they go in order of weight, Kiran was the next one to cross.

 

She took it slowly, hands holding tight to the semi-molded ropes acting as railings, her dream of the previous night coming back to her mind. Each step she took produced a horrible creaking sound on the wood planks, and she tried to keep placing her feet where the planks and the rope connected, guessing it was better than stepping on the middle.

Somehow, she made it dry and safe to the other shore, the kids taking hold of her hands as they waited for the other two members of their little party.

The Prince crossed on his own, at the same pace as Kiran, only not taking Glaðr along with him because he probably knew both their weights combined would surely break the bridge.

And yet he made it safely to the other three as well.

 

So the next fifteen minutes or so were spent cheering and calling out for the stallion as he nervously followed the Prince’s beck and call to come to his side. Kana and Morgan kept shouting words of encouragement, Kiran following along with amusement, as the Prince clapped his hands to call the horse to him every time he stopped at a plank’s creaking sound.

Thankfully, Glaðr made it safe to the group, and was received in a group hug full of “good job”s and “you’re such a good boy”s.

 

It was somewhere around three in the afternoon when they came across an abandoned structure to one side of a small clearing in the rainforest.

 

—What… is this? — _Morgan questioned, confused._

—It looks like a stables-inn. — _Prince Hríd hummed, running a gloved hand over the mossy rock walls._

—A stable-inn? — _Kiran repeated, weirded out. Not because stable-inns were a thing, no. She supposed travelers in this realm had plenty of uses for them, she could tell. But..._ — Out here in the middle of the jungle?

—Ah, well, the rainforest is no doubt overgrown. — _the Prince chuckled, eyes examining the place._ — I’m trying to follow the old trade routes here, but since these lands have been abandoned for so long…

 

Kiran let out an “ahhh” at that, feeling slightly dumb for asking. Of course. After… what was it, four hundred years? Surely, nature would take over the routes and villages.

They inspected the place, finding only broken rock walls and cobblestone pathways leading to the inn part of the whole thing. It was small, a wide area that seemed to have been the lobby/foyer connecting to five small rooms, all empty. There were also the stables, which were at the side of the inn, probably capable of housing some six horses.

They decided to rest inside for a while, the cover of the rundown and moss-covered stone walls giving the place a very much welcomed stillness that contrasted with the constant bug noises of the outside.

 

Then, all of a sudden, there was a flash of light. It was small, but so out of left field all everyone thought of doing was cover their eyes.

When it passed, they heard a small thud over the grass right by Kiran’s feet, and then silence.

 

The Prince had moved to stand, one hand on the handle of his sword, the other keeping Kana back. Morgan was halfway through reaching for his tome, and Kiran had one hand on her bow.

And yet the only thing that had changed was the fact that there now was a basket right by her feet.

 

There was silence for another moment.

 

—What… — _Kiran voiced what was in everyone’s minds, still a bit shocked._

 

When their brains caught up with the situation and their nerves calmed down, the other three approaches to inspect the basket and its contents. All of them wary, Morgan un-tucked the dish towel that was covering whatever was inside, like a picnic basket.

There was food in there.

 

From what she was able to see on top, there were a dozen potatoes, some six apples, two small napkins wrapping something, two loaves of bread and two decent quarter blocks of cheese.   
And the basket was  _ big _ , so there had to be more.

 

—Wh… Why...? — _the Prince mumbled, trying to process the situation. Kiran had to refrain from letting out a “same”. Had someone just… teleported supplies to them? What the fuck?!_

—Hey, there’s a note here! — _Kana reached for one of the walls of the basket, taking out a piece of paper which indeed had writing on it._

 

The Prince took it, examined it, and frowned.

 

—What does it say? — _Morgan asked, utterly confused._

—I can’t- I don’t know, it’s not in Niflese. — _Prince Hríd stated, flipping the note to see if there was a translation, but alas._

 

When it was flipped, however, Kiran caught a glimpse of the writing and was surprised to find it was in English.

 

—Wait, it’s in  _ my _ alphabet. — _she informed, snatching the note from him._

—So you can read it? — _Morgan turned to her instead._ — What does it say?

 

Kiran skimmed the letter and frowned a bit, confused.   
Deciding it was better they all listened to it to try and piece things together, she cleared her throat a little from the surprise.

 

—”I heard there’s a war going on in Duraþrór (god I hope that’s how it’s written oof), and idk where you are but I thought it would be best you have this. Y’know, just in case you got caught up in it. I hope you like potatoes cuz that’s what I found the most of lol sorry.” — _Kiran read through it without really thinking about the absurdity of the whole thing, her brain trying to catch up_.— “For you who gives love a bad name.”

—Wh… What’s… “lol”...? — _Morgan attempted to repeat, baffled._

—It’s… wait… — _Kiran’s brow furrowed even more, her brain catching up with the situation._ — Wait, oh dear. This- Someone from my realm wrote this.

—Are you sure? — _the Prince asked, clearly as confused as the rest._

—Yes, well, it’s in my alphabet and it has the common grammatical horrors. — _Kiran nodded._

—But, uh… who is this for? — _Kana sounded concerned_.— None of us give love a bad name! Who would even do that?

—”For you… give love a bad name…” — _Kiran read again, the answer in the tip of her tongue. Then she gasped and nearly stood up, her eyes opening wide_.— “Shot through the heart, and you’re to blame! — _she exclaimed._ — Darlin’, you give love a bad name!” Oh, this is so dumb!

—What, what is it? — _the Prince inquired, itching to know what was going on._ — What does that even mean? We are not to blame for anything, as far as I knew.

—No, no, no; Highness, those are the lyrics to a song in my realm! — _Kiran now stood up wholly, pacing around the room with the note in hand._ — It’s a joke! Whoever sent this, they- — _she stopped mid-step._ — They were in the bus.

 

There was silence for a moment as the other three exchanged concerned glances and Kiran tried to connect the dots.

 

—The Great Hero sent this. — _she eventually mumbled_.— To me.

—The Great- to you? — _Morgan half-repeated what she’d said, dumbfound._

—I was shot through the heart before arriving here, remember? That’s what the song and the joke are for. — _she explained, turning to look at them._ — The place I was shot at, it’s… ah, it’s like a carriage for multiple people, it’s called a bus- Point is, whoever wrote this  _ knows _ I was shot. The only people who know that are the ones who were at the bus when it happened. — _a small pause_.— And the only other person who isn’t from this realm aside from me, Morgan, and Kana; is the Great Hero.

—Therefore, the Great Hero was summoned from your realm, hence explaining how someone else knows you were shot and can say it referencing a song from there. — _the Prince pondered_.— It appears to be the case, yes. But… how did the Great Hero know? — _he asked_.— Fjorm couldn’t have possibly reached Askr already.

—Maybe it was Princess Gunnthrá who told them? — _Morgan offered._

—Yeah, couldn’t she, like, do telepathy? — _Kana chimed in, and the Prince chuckled softly._

—Yes, but not quite. — _Prince Hríd admitted._

 

As the conversation slowly derailed to the Prince explaining to Kana once again how Gunnthrá’s power worked, Kiran tuned off their voices to look at the basket brimming with food.

Regardless of how they’d found out, it seemed the Great Hero didn’t really know where she was. Which begged the question: how is it that they brought her to this realm, then? Wouldn’t she be brought to their side? 

Whatever it was, she supposed now was not the time for complaining.   
It felt good knowing there was someone out there who thought enough of her to bother as much as to send supplies via some sort of portal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah!  
> Now we have aid from the Great Hero lol
> 
> The party acts more like a family every day that passes. We are slowly fulfilling that Domestic Fluff tag I'm proud of myself lmao  
> Also the horse has somehow turned into the pet of this merry band of idiots  
> I hope yalls liked the tension *lenny face*
> 
> Also yeah, the Great Hero is an absolute dumbass if you can't tell already;;;


	19. Predators

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran, the kids, and the Prince get chased once again by the local apex predators.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, the dangers of traversing the wilderness at night
> 
> Sorry this took a while to get out, I legit wrote like two paragraphs over the course of an entire week and then the rest in one single day lmao what's my problem;;;;  
> Oh yeah we had finals week last week in my uni so that kinda slowed me down a little, but we're out of that disaster now so!  
> Enjoy~

After the short moment of shock and confusion, the group proceeded to take everything out of the basket to better examine all the supplies they’d been sent.

There were a dozen potatoes, six apples, two loaves of bread, two quarter-blocks of cheese, one napkin wrapping a bunch of salt, another napkin wrapping a bunch of sugar, a canteen with water, four sweet potatoes, four carrots, three mushrooms, and…

Were… Were those what Kiran thought they were?

 

—It seems they packed for few people. — _ the Prince commented, counting the potatoes. _ — Everything but the mushrooms and the white things are all pair, so it’s rations for four… perhaps six people at best.

—Well- — _ Morgan chuckled, taking the canteen into his hands and showing it to him _ .— Now you won’t need to drink from a bowl.

—What are these? — _ Kana asked, sitting in the middle of the supplies, taking three white things into her hands. _

 

Kiran just stared in disbelief.   
Oh, this had to be a joke.

 

—They’re rather light. — _ the Prince took one to feel it, shaking it a little. _ — It has words in it, it has to be a container of something. Though I’ve no clue what this material is…

—Those are, um- — _ Kiran cleared her throat _ .— Those are for me.

 

As the other three gave her confused looks, Kiran’s brain tried to wrap itself around what that implied.   
Because, well, those right there were three cups of instant noodles. 

 

—But there’s three of them. — _ Morgan spoke, skeptical. _ — Do you know what they are?

—This is from your realm, isn’t it? — _ the Prince quirked a brow, apparently having matched the brand name and instructions to the writing in the Great Hero’s note. _

—Yes, it’s from my realm, and as such it would be in everyone’s best interest if I were the only one to consume them. — _ Kiran tried to insist. _

—Why? — _ Kana questioned. _ — I wanna try ‘em!

—Because- — _ Kiran began, but stopped to try and choose the correct words. How to tell them it was poison-but-not-really? _ — Look, let’s just say I’m used to eating those and my stomach can handle them, but yours can’t.

—But doesn’t that mean they’re dangerous? — _ Morgan sounded offended. _

—They’re not  _ that _ dangerous for me who’s eaten them plenty of times before, but they sure as hell are for you three who haven’t. — _ Kiran chuckled. _

—That still doesn’t mean they’re healthy for you, does it? — _ the Prince asked in disbelief, and Kiran only managed to sag her shoulders in shame. _ — Is eating unhealthy things common practice in your realm?

—I- well… yes, it is. — _ she mumbled, defeated. _

 

Prince Hríd let out a sputter of surprise and examined the one cup in his hand, then the two other on Kana’s.

 

—You’re not eating this. — _ he declared, taking them all away and setting them aside. _

—Highness, listen- — _ Kiran began, frantic. They couldn’t just throw away food! And it wasn’t as if she’d die from three more instant noodles! _ — I won’t eat them if I don’t have to! But if we’re ever faced with a situation in which there’s simply  _ not enough _ food for all four of us, then these could really help out!

 

That seemed to force him to reconsider for a moment.

 

—You’re right. — _ he eventually mumbled. _ — Fine, alright, we’ll keep them. But only as a last resource.

—I wouldn’t have it any other way. — _ Kiran agreed. Truth be told, part of her wanted to taste instant noodles again, but the responsible side of herself insisted arriving in this realm was the perfect chance to stop eating pre-made shit once and for all. _

—Is it really normal to eat unhealthy things in your realm, Kiran? — _ Morgan asked, concerned. She nodded with a sad smile. _

—I still can’t fathom why you would eat them if you are aware they’re not good for you. — _ Prince Hríd sighed. _

—Well, sometimes there’s just no money to buy decent food so you have to make do with what your budget can get you. — _ Kiran sighed as well. _ — Food is expensive in my realm, you know?

 

The Prince appeared to be wholly taken aback by her statement, but he did not comment on it.

They stored the supplies in one of the satchels attached to Glaðr’s saddle and hung the basket to one side as well. While this place could serve as a very good refuge for the night, it was still way too early to settle down and call it a day.

So they continued onwards.

 

Now that Kiran thought about it, It did seem the Prince was trying to follow a previously marked path. Up until now she’d just supposed he’d been guiding them based on which cardinal direction was their destination at in relation to them, and some vague knowledge of the area. 

But no, he was really trying to follow old trade routes. He kept stepping through the overgrown vegetation and intertwining tree roots as if he was trying to feel the old transited roads with his boots. He would check the trees for what she could only assume were scratches left by the caravans or the travelers, and he would compare the apparent age of the trees from one section to the ones from the other.

 

If there was something she’d started feeling for him that Kiran was willing to admit, it was some sense of admiration.

 

They walked for some three more hours before stopping by the tiniest clearing ever, which wasn’t really a clearing considering they couldn’t see the nights sky through the leaves. They set up the tent by taking advantage of one of the trees growing there, and ate the bread and cheese they had gotten from the supplies basket.

 

As the kids insisted on searching the surrounding area for berries (even if the Prince told them there weren’t berry bushes in this part of the rainforest), Kiran took her time to practice what Prince Hríd had taught her with the bow.   
While she was doing that, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was looking at her, even if she knew for a fact he was brushing Glaðr’s mane near the tent.

Regardless of whatever he might’ve been doing, Kiran was glad to report her aim was coming along quite nicely. This time, most of the pointy sticks ended up very near her little mark! And he was right, her targets would never be as small as that carved out circle in a tree trunk was. Not only that, but with every shot she made, the less weird her dominant arm felt.   
Oh, to think that for her to make a full recovery she had to meet a medieval soldier to teach her how to properly shoot a bow. Life sure had its odd ways of getting things done.

 

During the night, Kiran couldn’t help but find weird how it was nearly as cold as it had been in Nifl. Weren’t they supposed to be in tropical lands now? Even if they were still very far south, one would think the nights would stop being so fucking cold at some point.   
Be that as it may, she at least had the peace of mind of knowing she wouldn’t freeze to death so long as Mr. Human Radiator was at her back.

 

They continued on come morning, calmly making their way through the rough terrain as the kids jumped over the roots and Kiran scrutinized their surroundings in search of anything that could be useful. She was aware she wouldn’t find berries there, going by how disappointed both children had returned after their little mission last night, but still. Some flowers to make more tea would be a welcomed treat

 

Their lunch was all six apples that had been sent in the basket, four for each and the remaining two split into, again, four each with the help of the Prince’s multipurpose knife.

 

Some several hours after that little meal (Kiran wasn’t really bothering checking her phone at all, funnily enough) and with the night closing in on them by the second, that Kana stopped dead in her tracks.

It took the rest a moment to notice this, and when they turned to see what was up, they found her staring wide eyed at the soil in concentration.

 

—Kana? — _ the Prince asked softly, alarmed. _

—We’re being tagged. — _ she mumbled. _

 

Kiran was quick to swipe Morgan up and seat him atop Glaðr, Prince Hríd doing the same with the little girl. Both the adults took their seats and the reins were whipped for the stallion to begin running.

 

Bow in hand and with her torso twisted to look over her shoulder, Kiran held steadfast with her legs to the horse as it galloped through the jungle. She couldn’t see anything in the increasing darkness, but she could swear she could hear two pairs of silent steps following quickly after them.

She took out her flashlight and gave it to Morgan.

 

—Turn it on and light our path ahead! — _ she indicated, returning her attention behind them. _

 

The boy fumbled for a moment with the device before he managed to get it to turn on, shining light to where they were going. The Prince breathed out a “thanks” and redirected the horse, making them swerve between an unlikely formation of trees.   
The steps following them made a sudden noise over the dead leaves, as if they had also turned sharply to keep up with them.

 

—Sounds like quadrupeds to me! — _ Kiran informed, ears and eyes sharp on their surroundings, this time for a completely different reason than before. _

—Must be cougars. — _ the Prince huffed. _ — I’d expected them to hunt later, but it seems I was mistaken.

—They’re coming closer…! — _ Kana called out, a bit nervous. _

—They must be hurrying up to catch us now that we’re trying to run away. — _ the Prince muttered. _ — At this rate, they’ll…

 

He trailed off as they exited the thicket of the rainforest and emerged to yet another river, this one probably twice the width of the previous one. Maybe it was due to its stupid size that the old inhabitants of this place had actually bothered building a proper stone bridge over it.

 

—We’re crossing over. — _ Prince Hríd announced, pulling on the reins so Glaðr would climb up the little steps. _ — The closest crossing point other than this one would be the river’s outpour into the sea, and we can’t afford to stray that far from the path.

—Wait, but-! — _ Morgan exclaimed, flashlight shining across the bridge. _ — There’s something up ahead!

 

The four of them paid attention to what was directly on the other side of the bridge, and found two specs of light quickly crossing the distance between them.

 

—That’s another cougar! — _ the Prince realized, alarmed, pulling back on the reins. _

 

While the horse’s hooves scrapped against the stone in an attempt to come to a stop and make a u turn at the same time, Kana pushed herself from off the saddle and transformed into her dragon form before hitting the bridge.

She came to stand menacingly before Glaðr, who’d managed to break the race, and faced the incoming cougar before roaring loudly, making a statement.

However, the feline didn’t stop at that. It continued on, almost to the halfway point of the bridge, and Kana took a nervous step back. It was clear she hadn’t expected that to  _ not _ work, and was now trying to come up with a new solution for the situation she’d gotten herself into.

 

—Kana! — _ Prince Hríd called out. _

 

His voice nearly drowned out the sound of steps rushing up the bridge behind them, and Kiran glanced back to find two other beasts approaching. Glaðr was fighting against the Prince’s hold on the reins, panicking about whether to continue or turn back, Kana just about frozen in fear at the front.

 

Kiran’s brain rushed with thoughts before one out-yelled the other: the cougar at the front had to be the leader. It was hyper focused on hunting them down, not paying any mind to Kana’s attempt at establishing dominance.   
That one needed to go down.

 

—Glaðr, up! — _ she called out, frantic, turning back from where she’d been looking at the other two closing in from behind. _

 

The stallion was still stepping around in its place, having had less than two seconds to process what was going on between sighting the alpha and hearing the other two ambush them from behind.

With much effort, the horse making the task difficult by the constant movement, Kiran managed to kneel up on top of her spot on the saddle, taking advantage of the space Morgan had vacated by scooting to where Kana had been sitting so he could shine the light better ahead of them.

 

—What are you talking about?! — _ Prince Hríd questioned, pulling strongly on the reins, daring to look at her over his shoulder for a split second. His eyes widened the moment he saw her kneeling up. _

—I said up, Glaðr! — _ Kiran insisted. Then, she heard the two other felines jump behind on them, and all her reservations were thrown out the window. _ — Shoot UP!

 

Somehow, the stallion seemed to understand what she meant by that, and compiled in the nick of time.    
Glaðr stomped his front hooves hard on the stones of the bridge, startling Kana and nearly causing the Prince to fall forward, Morgan smashing his head on his back by the impulse.

With his back hooves he kicked behind him, hitting one feline square in the face with each, and the push from that coupled with her own jump catapulted Kiran up into the air some good ten meters over the bridge.

 

In the air, the Prince’s words rang in her head as she pulled out a pointy stick from her quiver and placed it on the bow. The wind, it was the first thing she checked, but there wasn’t any of importance nor would it really matter if there was a little breeze considering she was shooting nearly downwards. The distance, that she gauged as she lifted her bow and drew the string back to her cheek, closing one eye to aim for a split second.   
The strenght…

But before she had time to think about that, she had already let go of the arrow, her brain having run the calculations in her head on autopilot.

 

The alpha cougar let out a miserable roar of pain and shock as the pointy stick shot straight into its back thigh.

 

—Kana, now! — _ Kiran called out, bracing for impact as her descent towards the stone bridge began. _

 

The dragon roared at the alpha with all her might, echoing through the riverbank and causing the birds to fly away. Kiran could’ve sworn the bridge shook with the soundwaves as the felines all scattered out of the place, the biggest one limping after its companions.

 

At about the time the roar ended, Kiran heard the horse snap out of his indecision (the threat was gone now, after all) and gallop forward to continue crossing the bridge. She fell down onto the Prince’s strong arms catching her on the go, Kana taking off from the ground after Glaðr and de-transforming in the air to fall on her spot on the saddle between the other two.

One of the Prince’s arms, the one behind her knees, lowered her onto his lap and let go so he could get a hold of the reins again, the other tight around her shoulders pressing her to his chest as he bent forward slightly to pass under the dense vegetation.   
They had to get away from the scene quick, lest something flying overhead come down to investigate and found traces of where they’d gone to.

 

As they rushed through the thicket of the rainforest once again, Morgan flashing light on their path, Kiran kept her eyes peeled open and looking over the Prince’s side to the trail behind them, just in case anything decided to follow them. Eventually, however, she had to duck her head back “inside” the little protective bubble the Prince’s broad shoulders were creating, her cheek pressed to his chest and his arm around her shoulders helping her get closer. He leaned forward even more, near on sandwiching her against the horse, locking his jaw atop her head. Judging by the sounds of snapping twigs, the ever-present rustle of the leaves, the speed of Glaðr’s galloping, and the occasional grunt of either effort or pain from the Prince  _ right by her ear oh gods _ ; it was safe to assume they were threading right through bushes and vines in an attempt to flee the scene faster.   
Kiran was glad to have heeded her intuition in ducking her head, else she would’ve probably been smacked by several branches now.

 

They spent near five minutes going through the thicket at full speed, eventually emerging back into the old paths, the Prince seating upright and Glaðr lowering the pace significantly. The next minutes were spent in silence as they all calmed down from what had happened.   
And yet the Prince’s arm was still tight around Kiran’s shoulder.

 

Slightly confused as to why, after even fifteen minutes since they slowed down the pace, he hadn’t let go of her, Kiran turned to look up at his face.

His brow was furrowed, and his breathing was silent but heavy.   
He was also paler.

 

—Highness. — _ Kiran began, worried. _ — Highness, are you alright?

—Hm? — _ he hummed, but the frown stayed in place. He kept his eyes trained forward _ .— Why do you ask?

 

He sounded tired.

 

—Well, because you’re-

—You’re bleeding! — _ Morgan exclaimed, shocked, interrupting Kiran. _

 

All their eyes trailed down to the Prince’s side, near Kiran’s knees, where there was a patch of red in his clothes where the fabric had been torn.

 

The marching was immediately stopped on a small clearing that, again, didn’t give way for the sky to be visible among the leaves. They all got down from the horse as Kiran indicated Morgan and Kana to make a fire while she examined where exactly was the Prince bleeding from and why.   
They would have to set camp there for the night.

 

—Sit down. — _ she stated, the kids behind her busying themselves with gathering logs and getting a campfire going, just as worried as she was. _

—I told you, I feel fine. — _ the Prince attempted to argue, sitting down nonetheless. _

 

The moment he knelt down to sit, however, a surprised grunt of pain left him and his hand shot to the red stain at his side.

 

—You’re bleeding, Highness, that is in no way “fine”. — _ she huffed, kneeling down in front of him and helping him sit on his heels. _

 

The Prince let out a whining noise that indicated he would say something if he wasn’t in pain at the moment.

Kiran fumbled around with his armor, trying to get the thing off of him so she could actually see the godforsaken wound. Morgan ended up having to come over to help her, and between the two they managed to get the Prince naked from the hips up.

Kiran didn’t even have time to stare at his muscular form, and instead had her eyes fixed on the wound on his left.    
Which was… behind him?   
How...?

It was a brute slash that started on his side and went over to his back where it deepened, as if whatever had made it had been shoved last minute closer to his skin.   
How had this even happened while they were being carried forward by Glaðr? Had one sharp branch accidentally stabbed him as he indicated the horse to turn to one side? It sounded like the only plausible explanation, but still.   
Damn if he wasn’t unlucky.

The wound itself was… very ugly. It was about the length of Kiran’s hand from wrist to middle fingertip, and it was bleeding profusely. But if what she could see from his flesh inside and the location was any indicator, then it hadn’t pierced through anything majorly important like an organ.

Still, the bleeding wasn’t ceasing.

 

—Morgan, get me my canteen. — _ she indicated, hearing the boy jog away and towards the stallion. _ — You do have rubbing alcohol among your stuff, right? — _ she asked the Prince. _

—Yes… In Glaðr’s saddle pouches… — _ he grunted, the cold air probably stinging his wound. _

 

Kiran nodded and got about gathering everything she would need. There was a campfire going not far from where they had seated the Prince, and she was already dreading this.   
Still, she decided to ask beforehand.

 

—Do you have any suggestions on what we should do? The bleeding isn't stopping. — _ Kiran eyed him as she unwrapped the bandages around her wrist. _

—Normally you’d… uh… call the platoon’s healer over, but… — _ he mumbled, hands balled into fists on his knees _ .— But I should be able to freeze it…

—No, you’re not in a state for that. — _ Kiran shook her head no, stern. _ — Plus, by freezing it we run the risk of causing severe collateral damage in your torso, and we can’t have that.

—Then I’m out of ideas. — _ he bit back a grunt. _

—Right… — _ Kiran sighed, taking out her Swiss Army knife. _ — Well, then, I can only hope you’ll forgive me for this, Highness.

 

All her fist-aid classes flashed in her mind as he looked up at her in confusion and concern, eyes half-lidded with exhaustion.

 

First, she washed the area as best she could to get all the small particles of fabric from his clothes and other grime away from the wound. She then cleaned her army knife with the alcohol and held it by the campfire.   
She turned to the kids watching silently from the side, concern all over their faces.

 

—We’ll need more water to wash his clothes after this. — _ she stated, trying to sound calm. _ — I can hear flowing water not far from here. Could you two please take both canteens and fill them so we can filter it? It’s best if you don’t see this, anyway.

 

The children exchanged worried looks, but nodded at her. They each picked up a canteen and left in the direction the sound was coming from, Kiran knowing they would be fine considering it couldn’t be far and Kana was a freaking dragon.

She took the knife out of the flames, glad that it wasn’t red hot yet, and turned to the Prince who just stared at her in resigned silence.

 

—You might want to grab something to bite into. — _ she warned, reluctant, but aware this had to be done else they risked him losing too much blood. _

—...I’ll be fine. — _ he mumbled. _

 

Kiran’s breath caught in her throat. He hadn’t even asked what she planned to do, why she was giving him that pained look with a burning knife in one hand.   
Did he really trust her that much? Oh, she didn’t know what to do with that information now.

 

For now, she made herself believe him as she knelt down beside him and pressed the hot knife to his wound without giving herself any more time for hesitation.

The Prince choked back a pant of agony, hunching over until his elbows were on the ground in front of him and his hands were gripping the nearest branches of whatever.

Kiran let the metal zizzle on his skin for barely a second, biting down her lower lip as she placed it back onto the wound to continue cauterizing it.

 

By the time the kids returned with the filled canteens, Kiran was softly wrapping the bandages around his abdomen to keep the forcefully sealed wound safe, the Prince looking absolutely spent.

As he recovered from all that ordeal, the other three went about filtering the water and washing all bloodied items of clothing, as well as the knife. They stored everything back in place and sat around the campfire while everything wet dried up and they all calmed down from… well, everything that had recently happened.

Kiran had taken various white strings of thread from the dish towels and was using them to patch up the Prince’s clothes where they had been torn by whatever caused the wound on his side.

 

—What were those things from earlier? — _ Kana mumbled, a bit sleepy, leaning lazy on Kiran’s side. _

—What things? — _ she asked, a bit confused, her voice mellow from her focus on the stitching. _

—I think she means the big cats that attacked us. — _ Morgan hummed, leaning on Kiran’s other side. _

—Oh. Those were cougars, I think. — _ Kiran pondered it for a moment. Yeah, that’s what the Prince had said, wasn’t it? _ — They’re felines as well.

—I had never seen them before. — _ Kana commented, amused. Well, Kiran for once was glad the girl had such a short “getting over stuff” span of time. _

—They’re to this rainforest what the wolves were to Mímameiðr’s Forest. — _ the Prince explained, voice the slightest bit hoarse, very much tired. _ — Nocturnal predators.

—Ahh. Yeah, that explains it. — _ Kana mumbled. _

—Alright. — _ Kiran let out, having finished patching up the clothes and setting them to the side. _ — You can put these on again, Highness. — _ she indicated, then moving to stand up. _ — You two help me pitch the tent.

 

The kids muttered out an affirmative answer before groggily moving about. It wasn’t an easy task with two children, but eventually they managed to get everything set.

Kiran saw to it that they were both comfortable inside and left for the campfire as soon as they fell asleep.

 

Outside, the Prince was sitting in front of the campfire, having dressed himself with his clothes again, even if his armor and cape were placed neatly to the side. Kiran walked up to him and took a seat to his right, mindful of her distance, tired but knowing she was too awake to attempt to sleep yet.

 

There was silence for some minutes, both of them looking at the flames and enjoying the company.

 

—… What  _ was _ that? —he eventually mumbled. 

 

For a second, Kiran was the slightest bit alarmed, thinking he’d heard something. But then his tone of voice registered in her mind, and she realized he was probably asking what all that from earlier had been.

 

—A first-aid procedure in my realm that we use when the bleeding isn’t stopping and stitching the wound closed would take too long. — _ she explained, softly, eyes returning to the flames. _ — It’s called cauterization. Usually we have medicine to lessen the pain, but… — _ her volume lowered, slightly ashamed. She hadn’t even bothered asking if he had any anesthesia in the form of ointments. Maybe he had! But then again, it would’ve probably taken its time to make effect, and they couldn’t dilly dally at all. Still... _ — I’m… sorry. I couldn’t… think of any other way to…

 

The Prince let out a soft sigh, and she lowered her head. Well, she wasn’t sure what she’d expected. She  _ had _ put him through a lot of pain without really explaining-

Her train of thoughts stopped the moment he rested his head on her lap, lying sideways over the grass slowly, his wound up.

Kiran all but froze in her spot.

 

—There’s no need to apologise. — _ he commented anyway, bringing her out of her momentary shock. Every word he spoke rumbled pleasantly on her thigh, and Kiran was suddenly too afraid to move even an inch. _ — You did stop the bleeding, and I thank you for that. It’s just…

—I’m really sorry, I should’ve said something else. — _ she sputtered, nervous _ .— I didn’t even bother asking if you had anything for lessening the pain…

—No, I- I don’t. But it’s not that. — _ he shuffled a little, apparently getting comfortable in this new position. Kiran guessed this was her life now. _ — I’m just… surprised, you even know this in the first place. I suppose I didn’t expect you to so casually know how to burn shut a bleeding wound with a knife.

—Oh, that’s, um… — _ she managed out, relieved. So he wasn’t mad at her! Well, good. That was… good. _ — I took… first-aid classes in my realm. They taught us quick and to the point medical procedures so we could potentially save lives if we were among the first ones to arrive at a scene where… well, something bad had happened.

—And burning people with knives was among the things they taught you? — _ he asked, concerned, apparently having a hard time believing it was a legit thing that worked, even if he’d just experienced it himself. _

—I- well, yes? — _ she replied, though it came out sounding more like a question. _ — No magic, remember? That means no healing magic, most of all. So everything has to be… well, done in another way.

—Yes, I do remember that. — _ he sighed _ .— I suppose I never stopped to think about just how… different everything would be if we didn’t have staves. — _ he mumbled, and then added after a second of pondering. _ — What… what are wars like, in that case?

—An absolute hellscape, I suppose. — _ Kiran didn’t suppose anything.  _

 

Tentatively, she placed one hand on his head and petted his greyish locks softly. She froze when he seemed to tense, scared of the thought she’d overstepped whatever their boundaries were at this point.   
But then he melted into her touch, and all was good in Kiran’s mind.

 

—I… I wouldn’t know how to explain it, though. — _ she continued, softly, one hand carefully brushing his hair. It was almost unfair it was this soft. _ — More people were lost every day than… well, I guess anything you could imagine.

—I find myself unable to doubt that if your medical procedures are like this. — _ he chuckled softly. _

 

Kiran found herself laughing airly as well. Ah, good ol’ black humor; good to know something similar also existed here.

 

They lapsed back into a comfortable silence, her hand absentmindedly brushing his soft hair all the while humming the most recently stuck melody in her head.

Kiran wasn’t going to lie, the weight of his head on her thighs felt very nice.

 

—I have to admit, I had never seen anyone successfully pull off jumping from the horse and shooting the target mid-air. — _ the Prince commented, bringing her back down from her thoughts. _ — Had you done this before?

—Uh, no? — _ she chuckled nervously, not having expected him to say something like that. _ — I was… sort of panicking there for a moment. Besides, I don’t think it would’ve worked as nicely if you hadn’t caught me. — _ she added, feeling her face go warm at the memory _ .— Thanks, by the way…

—Regardless of whether the landing gets done or not, that’s not what I meant. — _ he hummed, apparently amused. _ — I had never seen anyone actually manage to get the horse to catapult them up into the air, let alone shoot anything once up.

—Wait, you mean it’s actually a thing? — _ she asked, embarrassed to admit she had come up with that shit on the fly _ .— Like, it’s actually something the soldiers practice?

—Well, it is known to be possible, but it has very few uses on an actual battlefield so we don’t really teach it. — _ he explained. _ — As you’ve noticed, the landing is the biggest problem. But that doesn’t stop some of the archers from trying it out for laughs during training. Captain Leeroy is, I think, the only one who’s managed to get his horse to launch him up. — _ he mused. _ — But it was an accident, and he didn’t get sent up in the way he was supposed to, so he ended up falling face first onto the ground. 

—No way! Since Glaðr knew what to do I guess I supposed it’s something that can be done. — _ she gawked _ .— But if the reason nobody could pull it off is because they couldn’t get the horses to cooperate, then…?

—That is the exact same thing I was wondering. — _ he laughed softly, and the sound made her face heat up once more. She was very much glad he couldn’t see her in that moment. _ — How, if I never taught him, did Glaðr know what to do when you yelled out your order?

—I… I don’t know. — _ Kiran was just short of an answer. _ — I just… I thought if I yelled it with enough intention then he would understand. Because, well, that’s... what I did back when…

—Back when...? — _ he repeated once she’d trailed off, voice gentle, and very much intrigued. _

—Back when he dragged me through Mímameiðr’s Forest. — _ she mumbled out. _

 

There was silence for a second as she recalled the events of that night. Had it been during the night? It was dark anyway, she didn’t remember.

What  _ had _ she done to calm the horse down but talk to him, look into his eyes, pet him, and pray he understood her emotions? Why had Glaðr obeyed her when his master was the Prince and he was probably trained to heed his word and his word only?   
Why had he obeyed her when just before he had rushed away from his own master out of fear?

 

—Glaðr did stop because we reached a raging river, but he had been about to run in another direction before I untangled myself and… stopped him. — _ she recalled, soft and unsure _ .

—You… stopped him? — _ the Prince questioned. _ — But… how? He must’ve been terrified, to run away without me, how did you…?

—I don’t know! — _ Kiran breathed out. The more she thought about it, the weirder it all seemed. _ — I don’t know, I… I clung to his neck and patted his mane and told him it was going to be alright and he just… calmed down…? I… I’m sorry, I really have no idea-

—No, it’s fine, I’m just… surprised, is all. — _ he assured her, and she nodded to nobody in particular. _

 

Once again, they let silence rest on them.

Eventually, they decided they were tired enough and went inside the tent.   
However, the Prince stopped in his tracks the second the tent flap closed behind him, looking at the space the kids had left for them.

 

Confused, seeing as the space was the usual size, Kiran turned a questioning look to him.

 

—My wound is on my left. — _ he stated, barely above a whisper due to the sleeping kids, one hand ghosting over the stitches on his clothes. _ — Left and back, and I can’t sleep face-down on soil, I’ve… tried before.

 

Kiran squinted at him, not knowing where he was going at with this.

Still, she turned her attention to where they were about to lie down to sleep, and thought over his words for a moment. Can’t sleep face down, and injury prevents him from sleeping on his left and on his back.   
Since Kiran slept next to the kids, that would mean-   
Oh.

 

—Do you… want to sleep by the kids? — _ she asked, doubtful. She already knew the answer, though. _

—It’s safer if I take the outer spot. — _ he deadpanned regardless. _

—Right… — _ she mumbled, looking away out of nervousness.  _

 

If he could only sleep on his right side, then that meant…   
He would have to sleep facing her.

 

—Well. — _ she began, willing her voice to sound normal. _ — I don’t… really mind.

 

She did mind, however, and she couldn’t help the heat rising to her cheeks yet again as she sat down and snuggled up in the cotton cloth, facing Morgan. Because if he was going to sleep on his right then that meant she would probably lose her source of heat, considering he would keep his distance from her. If she was  _ not _ to lose her human warmth radiation, though, that would only be doable if… well… if they spooned.

 

Of course, when the Prince laid down, Kiran felt absolutely nothing against her back.   
And she tried her damndest not to be disappointed.

 

There was silence as both adults waited for sleep to take them.

…

But an entire hour afterwards, neither was asleep yet.

 

Kiran was, by all means, not awake to anyone who couldn’t see her open eyes. She had slowed down her breathing and remained immobile pretty much since lying down, in hopes sleep would take her faster, but there she was: unable to rest in peace with the ominous feeling of a certain  _ someone _ staring into the back of her head.   
And judging by his breathing pattern, it was safe to say he was wide awake, too.

 

She was halfway through wondering why the fuck wasn’t he sleeping (she knew why she  _ herself _ had trouble with it), when she felt it.

It was soft. It was careful. It was doubtful. It was warm.   
It was, unmistakably, the Prince’s hand coming to rest on her waist.

 

Her breath hitched, and in that second both a million thoughts rushed through her mind and the hand tensed in fear of having woken her up.

 

Kiran suddenly got the thought that he might’ve been waiting for her to fall asleep to even dare do this.   
But why? Why? Why her? Was it because she was the only adult around and therefore he felt unconditionally compelled to seek affection from her? It had to be. Why else… her?

Whatever the implications of that were, Kiran decided not to think about them.

She also decided not to think about how she slowly, and oh so softly, placed a hand over his’.

 

She felt him tense again, then melt under her warmth when she didn’t pull his hand away. Instead, she gave it the softest tug forward, and listened to how the Prince silently shuffled closer to her until she could feel his body heat radiating from him. The hand on her waist wrapped around her middle, pulling her flush against him; and Kiran responded by returning one hand to rest atop his’ and letting out the tiniest sigh of contentment. 

Much better. Much warmer.

 

The back of her mind was reeling with thoughts and questions, but she decided to ignore them. She wouldn’t think about them. If he could hear her heart beating loudly in her chest, he didn’t comment on it. If Kiran could feel his own just as strongly against her back, she didn’t comment on it.

If the Prince happened to rest his jaw on the top of her head, neither said a word about it.

If they both relished in the warmth and the company, they didn’t say it.

They stayed silent, waiting for sleep to take them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honest to god cannot physically write anything fluffy or romantic without convulsing in my seat my body can't handle it please send help;;;  
> I hope that was good?? Idk man I SUCK at romance but I can't help it!!! I want my ships!!! AHHHHHHHH!
> 
> Oh, the constant struggle of artist/writers;;
> 
> And yes, Kiran did just pull off a BOTW horse maneuver  
> Hríd, meanwhile, is getting bolder with his moves  
> Damn, this story is certainly a medium burn and not a slow burn, I was smart to change the tags a while ago;;
> 
> On another note, the Great Hero continues to be a walking gallery of memes and bad life choices!  
> Yay for dumbasses being summoned to other worlds and having B.I.G big resposibilites thrown on them  
> I hope the Great Hero isn't coming across as annoying?? That's not my intention at all they're just a big jackass who's only outlet for their culture, memes, and bad humor is Kiran lol


	20. Magnetic Pull

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiran, the kids and the Prince continue on after the ordeal of the previous night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a lil bit shorter than the last ones but I couldn't for the life of me fit it into the previous nor the following one so here it is ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> This is more of a breather chapter, so kick back, relax, and enjoy the ride~

Come morning, Kiran reluctantly wiggled herself out of the Prince’s embrace lest she turn around and start cuddling him.

It wasn’t long before they were all outside the tent, stretching, saying good morning to the obedient stallion. As Kiran and the kids un-made the tent to store it back in place and move on, the Prince was looking around the trees intently.

 

—Is something the matter? — _Morgan asked eventually, once they had finished with their little task and were waiting on him to continue on._

—I’m afraid I lost the path as we fled the cougars last night. — _the Prince sighed, standing up straight, crossing his arms over his chest pensively._ — I can’t tell where’s north.

—Can’t I fly up over the trees and see where those mountains from some days ago are? — _Kana offered._

—I’d rather not risk any Muspellian wyvern riders spotting you. — _the Prince denied_.— We’re safe under the cover of the rainforest.

—Then… what now? — _the boy looked up at Kiran._

—You just need to know which way is north? — _she asked instead, gaze fixed on the Prince._

—That should be enough, yes. — _Prince Hríd nodded, still trying to think of a what out of this little problem_.— Regardless of if we find the trade routes again, we can’t be too far from it. If we continue north we should still find the abandoned capital of one of the kingdoms that used to be here.

—Oh. Alright, then. — _Kiran mumbled._

 

She went about fishing out that needle from her pouch, a bowl, her canteen, and a random leaf from the ground. The other three gave her confused looks before walking over to her so they could see what she was doing.

Kiran knelt down to place the bowl on the ground, the others hovering around her, curious. She poured a bit of water in it, at around halfway, then placed the leaf on top. She capped the canteen closed and stored it back in place with one hand as the other rubbed the pointy end of the needle against the cotton cloth tied around her waist to magnetize it.   
Once she deemed it charged enough, the needle was carefully placed atop the leave floating on the water in the bowl.

There was silence for a moment as the group looked on at the little experiment. Morgan let out a soft gasp of surprise when the leaf over the water started turning in place slowly.

 

—This is a makeshift compass. — _Kiran stated, catching the other three off guard_.— The pointy end is signaling north.

—How…? — _Morgan began, awestruck._

—You can magnetize a metallic object by rubbing it enough times against fur or hair. — _Kiran smiled up at the boy_.— The magnetic pull of the earth would then make it act as the needle of a compass would.

 

She was glad her science class group in fifth grade had chosen this over the coke volcano of every year.

 

—That’s amazing… — _Morgan marvelled at the bowl._

—Indeed... — _the Prince mumbled, poking the leaf and watching it return to its magnetic-altered position. He looked in that direction before standing up._ — Very well, then. Let’s move.

 

Kiran stored everything they’d just used for the experiment and fell in step behind them.

 

It turned out they’d all been taken their traversed path for granted. Or at least Kiran and the kids, since the Prince didn’t seem bothered by anything other than the almost freshly cauterized wound on his side and his loss of blood from the night prior. By taking the old trade routes, what they’d essentially been doing was taking the least overgrown path. There was a clear line among the vegetation where the plants weren’t as abundant as the rest of the area.

But now that they were out of those paths, things were much different. There was no constant walking in one direction and hopping over roots from time to time. They were zigzagging their way through trunks, vines, cobwebs, stingy bushes, and roots; having to climb up some leaning trees only to return to the ground on the other side just because there was no other way around the obstacle.

It was, frankly, exhausting. It felt like walking around a staircase that couldn’t decide when it was going up two steps and when it was going down three. It was even more taxing for the kids, whose legs weren’t long enough to let them easily step over some of the major trunks in the way.

The Prince even offered to carry Kana on his shoulders, but the three of them turned him down saying he couldn’t over-exert himself with a wound like that.

 

—If we didn’t have to continue walking, I wouldn’t even let you stand up from where you should be laying down. — _Kiran warned._ — Cauterization due to blood loss is nothing to scoff at, Highness.

 

He had given her a strange look at that, but did not pursue the topic.

 

It was some two hours after setting out that they came across a muddy pond. That wasn’t a strange sight, considering this was a rainforest and it was full of those spots, but rather what they sighted by the pond was the interesting part.   
Boars.   
Kiran didn’t even know boars could inhabit places like this. Forests, sure, but… rainforests? Maybe she was just uncultured in this stuff. Or maybe these were different boars, what with this being a different realm and all.

The fact of the matter was, there were big prey animals across the bushes from them and they hadn’t eaten since… well, it hadn’t been  _ that _ long but they were certainly very much hungry.

 

—Are you confident in your marksmanship yet, Miss Kiran? — _the Prince murmured. Something in the way he pronounced “Miss” gave her a weird sensation, but she dismissed it._

—I mean, I should be able to do this much. — _she mumbled back. They were pretty close to the boars, after all. It was honestly amusing how they hadn’t been noticed yet._

 

She held her bow in one hand and with the other she extracted a pointy stick from the quiver. She placed it on the string, but kept the weapon down as she fixed her gaze on the animals drinking water not far from them. There was no wind, there were no obstacles in the way, and she was hunting it to eat so the strenght shouldn’t be contained.

With that in mind, she lifted her bow, aimed, and pulled the string back in the same motion.

Then, she shot.

 

There was a beat of silence as the stick crossed the distance in a flash and buried itself in the side of one of the boars. It let out a surprised and pained screech, causing the rest of the pack to scatter around and run for their lives.

But the victim was left behind, and Kana was quick to jump over the bushes with a triumphant fist pumped into the air.

 

As usual, they set up a campfire and divided the meat in two so it could last them for another meal, skewering the rest. Seeing as they had potatoes, carrots, and stuff now, they stored the boar’s fat aside so it could be used to cook stew or something along those lines.

 

—I want to take a bath… — _Kana mumbled during the lunch/breakfast/whatever, halfway into a whine._

—Yeah, me too. — _Morgan sighed._

—I wonder if it’s even possible to clean up in rivers as muddy as the one we passed a while ago. — _Kiran pondered, amused. Truth be told, she also wanted to take a shower, but the prospect of going into such opaque wild waters was… not enticing, to say the least_.— I mean, they’re full of sediments. Won’t that stick to you?

—It’s not the most effective way, but it works fine enough. — _the Prince mused, eyes up on the sky._ — But it might rain on us before we can find another river.

—We could shower in the rain! — _Kana exclaimed, a big grin on her face._

—So long as it doesn’t catch us off guard. — _the Prince lowered his gaze back to the group, scanning them_.— We don’t have more than our current clothes, after all. And threading through the rainforest with wet clothing on top is dangerous, especially during the night and in this relatively cold season.

—Plus, I thought rains in tropical lands like this one tended to last for a long while. — _Kiran commented._

—Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. They’re rather unpredictable, that’s the problem. — _the Prince sighed_.— In Nifl you could see a storm coming from up to an hour before it reached your location. Here it can be the case that you have mere minutes to take shelter before it hits. And when it does…

—It’s a downpour. — _Kiran completed, now slightly worried, and he nodded._

 

Kana’s wish came true earlier than any of them had expected.

They left the small pond to continue with their marching, a much slower pace through the dense vegetation. They saw some monkeys, and a line of ants carrying leaves that fascinated Morgan beyond belief, for some reason. Eventually, night fell upon them just as they reached a clearing giving way to a river.

A non-muddy river.

 

—What…? — _Kiran breathed out as the flowing body of mostly clear water came into view, confused._ — I thought rivers in rainforests were muddy due to the sediment…? Why is this one not?

 

The stallion huffed as his master pulled on the reins, walking closer to the shore to inspect the water.   
Yep, certainly clearer than the other big river they’d seen.

 

—Maybe this one is very clean because the path it takes is mostly rocks and less dirt? — _Morgan offered._

—No, all rivers in the Barren Lands are branches of the Vimur, which originates on the northwest and goes right through the clay deposits. — _the Prince absentmindedly debunked, apparently trying to think of an explanation himself._ — Oh. — _he seemed to realize something._ — This must be the Clear Gap…

—The what? — _Kana quirked a brow, both arms already elbow deep in the river._

—Back in the day a spell was developed by the people here to separate the minerals and sediment in a river from the actual water and animals transiting it. — _Prince Hríd explained, standing straight and looking river-up_.— It was a success, and it allowed the local settlers to make use of the minerals without disturbing the wildlife. However, due to how the spell itself worked, it did not clear the entire river and instead only withdrew sediments from one specific point. Akin to a net. Down the line the river would end up muddy again regardless because of the terrain of these lands. — _a pause, and he looked back down at the water_.— Still, the spell did create a portion of the river that would be clean of minerals. They called it the Clear Gap. I did not expect the spell to still work, though.

—Who cares why it still works! — _Kana exclaimed, a big grin on her face._ — This is clean water, right? That means it’s bathing time!

—Wait, Kana-!

 

Kiran didn’t even finish calling after the girl before she’d transformed into a dragon and jumped head first into the river, forcing the other three and the horse to back up lest they get splashed with water.

 

—And there she goes. — _Kiran sighed._

—It’s fine, we can set up the tent and take turns to bathe. — _Morgan smiled up at her_.— Like when we were travelling with the rest of the soldiers.

—Thanks. I’ll go behind those bushes, then. — _Kiran pointed to the side._

—Call us if anything happens. — _the Prince stated, and she nodded._

 

As the other two and the horse walked away from the water and towards a dry part of the shore to set up camp, Kiran made her way behind a small wall of vegetation not far from where they had all stopped to stare at the river. The plants shielded that part of the water from where the others would be, meaning Kiran and Kana could bathe in peace.

 

Bathing alone with Kana in a river was… an experience, to be frank. Kiran let the girl play around in dragon form as she rinsed the grime off of herself. She helped clean the dragon’s scales before the girl exited the river, shook off the droplets, and transformed back into a human to take off her clothes and bathe  _ again _ .

So Kiran ended up having to help Kana bathe twice.

They dried as best they could with the dish towels, dressed quickly before the cold could catch them, and made their way to the campfire after some fifteen minutes of having been in the river.

 

They traded places with the boys over the campfire, and Kiran gave them the dish towels so they would have something to dry off with.

After reminding the Prince to be careful with his wound, the other two went to the river to bathe and Kiran began heating the cooking pots to make dinner.

 

She boiled some of the potatoes in one pot while on the other she used some of the boar fat as cooking oil replacement. With the mushrooms, two of the carrots, some water, salt, the boiled potatoes, and small bites of the salted meat they still had (she made sure to leave enough for a good meal of skewers tomorrow), Kiran managed to cook up a pretty decent kinda-stew, if she was allowed a bit of pride.

It was done by the time the other two came back, setting the small towels to dry near the campfire and yet a safe distance away from the flames.

 

—Oh, that smells wonderful! — _Morgan commented, sitting down. Kiran served a bowl and passed it over to him along with a spoon._ — It’s been a while since we’ve had a proper meal!

—I would hardly call this proper. — _Kiran chuckled softly, passing Kana her serving._

—This leaves us with what, exactly? — _the Prince asked, looking into the pot._

—Eight potatoes, two carrots, four sweet potatoes, and three… um, emergency meals. — _Kiran listed_.— Oh, and boar fat along with salted meat for skewers.

—Fair enough. — _the Prince sat back._ — Given our current diet, we should try and have more complete meals like this one while we have the resources.

—Yessir. — _Kiran mumbled, the slightest bit amused they kept calling her 50% potatoes stew-but-not-really a “proper meal”._

 

She stood up, taking the pot where she’d boiled the potatoes with her, intent on washing it by the river. She was about to round the campfire when the Prince stood as well, placing one hand on hers over the pot’s handle.

Kiran nearly startled under his touch.

 

—Let me take that. — _he stated, his fingers smoothly slipping past her own and taking a hold of the handle._

 

Kiran was left unable to properly react to that other than will the heat rising to her cheeks to return to her chest and do its fucking job of keeping her warm. There was something in his tone when he said it that just made it sound very much out of place for someone offering to wash the dishes for her.   
Plus, his hand clearly went for hers before going for the handle. Kiran didn’t want to be overthinking stuff, but her nerves weren’t making it an easy task.

 

So she awkwardly sat back down at her spot, the Prince washing the pot by the river. The kids, bless them, were too busy eating to notice anything.

 

After the children had finished their part, the adults took over their bowls and had their own dinner. Of course, being the first ones to eat, Morgan and Kana started getting sleepy while the other two were still halfway through their food. So Kiran left her bowl to the side for a second to go tuck Morgan in next to the dragon.

Once that was done, she left the tent and returned to her spot by the campfire across from the Prince.

They ate what was left in their bowls and cooking pot in amiable silence. Kiran once again stood up to try and go wash the other pot, but she couldn’t say she was surprised when the Prince once again stopped her.

 

—Highness- — _Kiran attempted to argue, her word sizzling out as his hand fell over hers to take her bowl._

—You cooked for all of us, so I ought to do my part as well. — _he intervened, serious._

—But… you’re-

—A prince? — _he cut her short._

 

Kiran fell silent.

 

—You know, Miss Kiran, I’m starting to think that maybe royalty in your realm behaves vastly different from those here. — _he commented, turning for the river with the pot and both bowls in hand. Despite having the same serious expression from before, there was a tinge of humor in his voice._ — You and I are both capable of splitting responsibilities in half, and as the only adults there’s no reason why we shouldn’t.

 

She didn’t say anything to that for a moment. Gods, she felt so dumb. She should  _ really _ stop applying logic from her realm to this place, it had been proven to her time and time again that it wasn’t as similar as one would think it to be.

 

—Sorry. — _she eventually mumbled._

—Please, I’m not blaming you for anything. — _he insisted, standing up from the river. He walked back to the campfire to set the implements to dry_.— But I do find myself slightly concerned. — _he sat down across the flames from her and gazed into her eyes. Kiran blinked in anticipation, her hands on her thighs fumbling with the cotton cloth to calm her nerves._ — What  _ is _ royalty like where you come from?

—What  _ was _ , actually. — _she stated, softly._ — There’s not much royalty left in my realm.

—There’s not? — _he quirked a brow, leaning back. Yeah, she supposed that was confusing enough._

—Most were either overthrown by the military or murdered in insurrections from the populace. — _Kiran revealed, holding his gaze. His eyes widened ever so slightly_.— As far as I know, they were full of themselves and downright useless for most things, even ruling countries.

 

There was silence for a moment as he assimilated the information.

 

—That’s certainly different. — _he eventually hummed._

—I sure would hope it is. — _Kiran couldn’t help the little smile that came over her._

—I can assure you as much, Miss Kiran. — _the Prince returned the gesture, confident._

 

Kiran’s smile was on the verge of becoming warmer, until he said that last bit. Her expression fell into a blank one without she herself noticing, her gaze lowering to the flames.

Why did he keep calling her that? The more she heard it, the weirder it made her feel. It was almost to the point where she was a bit sad he wouldn’t call her simply by name.   
She didn’t want to even  _ think _ about why such a stupid detail had so big an effect on her.

 

—Is something the matter? — _his soft tone brought her back to the present. There was something along the lines of worry in his face when she looked back up._

—No, it’s just… — _she trailed off, faintly biting her lip. Well, she didn’t lose anything by trying, did she? The less she had to be faced with the why’s of her reaction, the better._ — I was just wondering… why you still call me that.

—”Miss Kiran”? Is there something else you’d rather me call you? — _he asked, an apology unspoken in his tone of voice and expression._

—Um… just my name is fine…? — _she said, though it came out sounding slightly like a question._ — There really is no reason for you to keep up the formal part, it’s… weird.

 

The Prince opened his mouth to speak, before closing it shut the moment a thought seemed to come to him. Apparently, he pondered it over for a moment before looking back at Kiran.

 

—Very well, I will drop the formal part. — _he stated, and she was almost relieved._ — However, — _he spoke before she could even finish reacting to the first sentence_.— I will only do it if you do so as well.

 

It took Kiran a hot second to comprehend what he meant by that.

 

—Ah- but- — _she stuttered, dumbfound_.— But you’re-

—A prince? — _he asked._

 

She fell silent once again.   
Alright, fuck, what other excuse did she have? Their ages? No, he did look like he was somewhere around her age. Ah, but, she’d always been terrible at telling that. For all she knew that man could be a nineteen year old.

 

—If you’re thinking about our ages, I’m fairly certain we’re nearly the same age. — _he took the words right out of her mouth._

—I’m twenty five. — _Kiran tried._

—And I’m twenty six. — _he deadpanned, leaning his head on his palm, elbow propped up on one knee, legs crossed_.— Do you have any other excuse?

—No, um- I-I’m sorry, it wasn’t my intention to… — _she trailed off, embarrassed. She was just ready for the ground to swallow her up._

—I know it wasn’t, I simply find it amusing how difficult it is for you to call me by name even as you ask me to do the same for you. — _he mused, before wincing slightly._ — Er, that sounded passive agressive, I assure you it’s not.

 

Kiran didn’t know how to answer to that.

Something dulled in the Prince’s eyes at her silence.

 

—I was merely jesting. — _he eventually said, gaze on the flames, expression unreadable._ — I won’t push you to anything, Kiran, you can call me whatever.

 

Kiran’s heart swelled at the way he spoke her name, but also dropped with his tone and what he was saying.

 

—No, that- That wouldn’t be fair. — _she managed out, feeling pretty bad about the whole ordeal._ — Alright, Hi- Hríd, y-you win. — _she stuttered. There was a flicker of something in his eyes, but they were still trained on the campfire. Kiran felt the sudden need to explain herself, she didn’t want him to see her as a selfish lass who asked for stuff but couldn’t do squat in return, even if it was as simple as dropping a title._ — I-I’m sorry, it’s just- I know you just said royalty here is very different from the one in my realm, but um- there’s a voice in my head that just keeps telling me I have no right as a commoner to even face royalty like you directly, so I, er-

—No, don’t apologise. — _he stopped her halfway through her mumbling, expression distant._ — I should have expected as much if royalty truly was the way you described them. Please, forgive me for putting you on the spot like that.

 

Kiran’s knuckles were white from holding so tightly to the cotton cloth, and she barely managed out a small murmur at that.

 

—There’s nothing to forgive, really.

 

There was only silence after that as they waited for the pots and bowls to dry up.

Once those were safely stored in Kiran’s satchel a while later, they put out the campfire and made their way into the tent without speaking a word.

 

Just like the previous night, Prince Hríd had to lay down on his right and kept his distance as they settled in to sleep. Also like the previous night, Kiran slowed down her breathing pattern, but did not manage to sleep at all at the beginning. Double also like the previous night, a good hour went by and, judging by his own breathing pattern, Prince Hríd was just as awake as she was. She didn’t feel his stare boring into the back of her head, but the man behind her was with all certainty not asleep.

Unlike the previous night, however, Prince Hríd did not attempt a single thing.

Kiran hated the fact her chest was clenching so much at that.

 

She was attracted to him. She knew as much, it was undeniable. She had never been the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to other people’s feelings and her own, but this she could confidently recognize as attraction. There was no way she couldn’t, it was far too prominent.

 

Still pretending to be asleep, however, she turned around and laid on her left side, facing him. She  heard his breath hitch, then go silent as he waited to see if she had woken up.   
Yet, Kiran gave no signs of being awake.

 

But she could deal with that. She could deal with being attracted to a handsome man who was more or less protecting her life in a daily basis. It had her nerves on edge and most of her body heat up in her face, but it was doable. She could persist through it.

No, the problem was not that Kiran had the hots for the Prince. The problem was that… this was so much different from all the other times she’d felt attracted to another person. And not in the sense that they were the only adults taking care of two children and in a quest of survival. It was different because Kiran had never felt this crushingly lonely despite there being people around her, and just because a certain someone didn’t have his back pressed against hers. It was different because she’d never  _ cared _ so much for the other person. It was different because she’d never felt such a maddening  _ need _ to be near the other person. Sure, she’d been attracted to others, but it had always been a stolen glance or a small blush at an action. Nothing that pulled her like a magnet pulled a metal. Nothing that squeezed her heart into her ribcage until she was close enough to listen to his own heartbeat.

And it scared her.

Because even if royalty here wasn’t how it was back in her realm… what could Prince Hríd ever possibly see on her? He was still a royal, and she was still a commoner not only not from his kingdom, but also not from this very world. There was a gigantic cultural gap. Kiran was awkward, she was only this confident in half the shit she did because, well, otherwise the kids would get nervous. She only kept a determined face because she  _ had to _ .   
What could he ever see on her?

Under that notion, there was only one explanation to his recent actions: Kiran was the  _ only adult _ around aside from him. These were tense situations they were going through, and she was the only one around his age experiencing the same things as him. Maybe it just so happened she wasn’t an eyesore. Maybe it just so happened she was friendly enough, perhaps even lovely enough, though she doubted it very much. The Prince was just lonely. He had nobody else, and as such he sought solace in her.

That was the only explanation. That  _ had _ to be it.

 

There was the faintest shuffle inside the tent, Kiran by all means asleep to anyone unable to read minds. When she felt it, it took her tremendous effort to keep up the charade and remain still, breathing deeply, in and out. 

At first it was barely a graze, a hand finding its way to her cheek in the darkness. Then, those cold fingers brushed some locks of hair gently out of her face, tucking them behind her ear. The fingertips traced down her jawline with reverence, coming to a halt just short of her chin.

The tumb ghosted over her cheek before finding place atop her lower lip, brushing it softly.

The Prince’s hand remained on her for a moment before he pulled back, finding her own in the darkness and placing his’ atop hers, palm against palm. He seemed to settle down in that position.   
Kiran, selling the act of still being asleep excellently, placed her other hand atop his’ and settled down as well. He melted against her warmth, and all was good in Kiran’s mind for that single moment.

 

“That _had_ to be it”, right?

But, then again…   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't @ me on this but I was going through my FEH teams and I realized NY!Hríd sounds *very* differenf from og Hríd. I mean they're both Mark Whitten but idk man they could very well be two different characters if you just gave me some of the voice clips.........  
> (speaking of Whitten, it seems he's going to be in Three Houses as well but for the life of me I can't remember who he's supposed to be voicing lol)  
> If it matters, the Hríd voice I have in my head while I write this fic is a bit more serious NY!Hríd so there's that ig;;; I do use him a lot more than og Hríd so his voice is the one that has stuck with me and is the one that I think of when I picture him. If you don't have a copy of one of them you can go to the gamepedia for FEH and search for Hríd, they have most of the voice clips there.  
> As an extra note, I think whoever asked this did it in Worlds, but the answer applies to this fic as well so;;; my voice for Kiran is my default-female-voice inside my head. I... wouldn't know how to describe it, but if I had to set a reference I'd say she sounds more or less like Caitlin Glass in her role as Shirayuki from the Snowhite With Red Hair dub. Glass is also the voice of Haruhi from the Ouran Highschool Host Club dub, if that's a more familiar point of reference.
> 
> Oh yeah about this chapter  
> hope you enjoyed that lmao

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, kudos and constructive criticism are heavily appreciated!


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